By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russian troops entered an air base in Niger that hosts U.S. troops, a senior U.S. defense official told Reuters, a move that follows the Nigerien junta’s decision to expel the American forces in the country.
The military officers who run the West African country have called on the United States to withdraw nearly 1,000 troops from the country, which until last year’s coup was a key partner in Washington’s fight against insurgents who have killed thousands and displaced millions more.
A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces did not mix with U.S. troops but used a separate hangar at Air Base 101, located next to Diori International Airport. Hamani in Niamey, the capital of Niger.
The move by the Russian military brings U.S. and Russian troops closer together at a time when the two countries’ military and diplomatic rivalry is increasingly acrimonious over the conflict in Ukraine.
It also raises questions about the fate of U.S. facilities in the country after a withdrawal.
“(The situation) is not great but manageable in the short term,” the official said.
The Nigerian and Russian embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The United States and its allies have been forced to withdraw troops from a number of African countries following coups that brought to power groups seeking to distance themselves from Western governments. In addition to the imminent departure from Niger, American troops have also left Chad in recent days, while French forces have been driven out of Mali and Burkina Faso.
At the same time, Russia seeks to strengthen its relations with African countries, presenting Moscow as a friendly country, without colonial baggage on the continent.
Mali, for example, has become one of Russia’s closest African allies in recent years, with the deployment of Wagner Group mercenary forces to fight jihadist insurgents.
Russia has described its relations with the United States as “below zero” due to U.S. military and financial assistance to Ukraine in the war that is now nearing the end of its second year.
The U.S. official said Nigerien authorities had told President Joe Biden’s administration that about 60 Russian military personnel would be in Niger, but the official could not verify that number.
After the coup, the U.S. military moved part of its forces in Niger from Air Base 101 to Air Base 201 in the city of Agadez. It was not immediately clear what U.S. military equipment remained at Air Base 101.
The United States built Air Base 201 in central Niger at a cost of more than $100 million. Since 2018, it has been used to target fighters from the Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) with armed drones.
Washington is concerned about Islamist militants in the Sahel region, which could grow without the presence of American forces and intelligence capabilities.
Niger’s decision to request the withdrawal of US troops came after a meeting in Niamey in mid-March, when senior US officials raised concerns, including about the planned arrival of Russian forces and reports that which Iran would seek raw materials in the country, in particular uranium.
Although the U.S. message to Nigerien officials was not an ultimatum, the official said, it was made clear that U.S. forces could not be on a base with Russian forces.
“They didn’t take it very well,” the official said.
A two-star American general was sent to Niger to try to organize a professional and responsible withdrawal.
Although no decision has been made on the future of U.S. troops in Niger, the official said there are plans for them to return to U.S. Africa Command bases in Germany.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; writing by Idrees Ali; editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)
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