Current:Home > MarketsU.S. troops leaving Niger bases this weekend and in August after coup, officials say-InfoLens
U.S. troops leaving Niger bases this weekend and in August after coup, officials say
View Date:2024-12-23 15:02:32
The U.S. will remove all its forces and equipment from a small base in Niger this weekend and fewer than 500 remaining troops will leave a critical drone base in the West African country in August, ahead of a Sept. 15 deadline set in an agreement with the new ruling junta, the American commander there said Friday.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth Ekman said in an interview that a number of small teams of 10-20 U.S. troops, including special operations forces, have moved to other countries in West Africa. But the bulk of the forces will go, at least initially, to Europe.
Niger's ouster of American troops following a coup last year has broad ramifications for the U.S. because it is forcing troops to abandon the critical drone base that was used for counterterrorism missions in the Sahel.
Ekman and other U.S. military leaders have said other West African nations want to work with the U.S. and may be open to an expanded American presence. He did not detail the locations, but other U.S. officials have pointed to the Ivory Coast and Ghana as examples.
Ekman, who serves as the director for strategy at U.S. Africa Command, is leading the U.S. military withdrawal from the small base at the airport in Niger's capital of Niamey and from the larger counterterrorism base in the city of Agadez. He said there will be a ceremony Sunday marking the completed pullout from the airport base, then those final 100 troops and the last C-17 transport aircraft will depart.
Speaking to reporters from The Associated Press and Reuters from the U.S. embassy in Niamey, Ekman said that while portable buildings and vehicles that are no longer useful will be left behind, a lot of larger equipment will be pulled out. For example, he said 18 4,000-pound (1,800-kilograms) generators worth more than $1 million each will be taken out of Agadez.
Unlike the withdrawal from Afghanistan, he said the U.S. is not destroying equipment or facilities as it leaves.
"Our goal in the execution is, leave things in as good a state as possible," he said. "If we went out and left it a wreck or we went out spitefully, or if we destroyed things as we went, we'd be foreclosing options" for future security relations.
Niger's ruling junta ordered U.S. forces out of the country in the wake of last July's ouster of the country's democratically elected president by mutinous soldiers. French forces had also been asked to leave as the junta turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for security assistance.
Washington officially designated the military takeover as a coup in October, triggering U.S. laws restricting the military support and aid.
- In:
- Niger
- Africa
- United States Military
veryGood! (94418)
Related
- Bitcoin has topped $87,000 for a new record high. What to know about crypto’s post-election rally
- Sterling, Virginia house explosion: 1 firefighter killed, 13 injured following gas leak
- Daytona 500 2024: Start time, TV, live stream, lineup, key info for NASCAR season opener
- Kevin Harvick becomes full-time TV analyst, reveals he wants to be 'John Madden of NASCAR'
- More than 150 pronghorns hit, killed on Colorado roads as animals sought shelter from snow
- Lionel Messi, Inter Miami tickets: Here are the Top 10 highest-selling MLS games in 2024
- New Jersey district settles sex abuse lawsuit involving former teacher for $6 million
- California is forging ahead with food waste recycling. But is it too much, too fast?
- Ariana Grande Shares Dad's Emotional Reaction to Using His Last Name in Wicked Credits
- What is the Dorito theory and can it explain your worst habits?
Ranking
- Texas now tops in SEC? Miami in trouble? Five overreactions to college football Week 11
- Don’t Miss Kate Spade Outlet’s Presidents’ Day Sale Featuring Bags Up to 90% Off, Just in Time for Spring
- A California judge is under investigation for alleged antisemitism and ethical violations
- Science experiment gone wrong sends 18 students, teacher to Tennessee hospital
- Kevin Costner Shares His Honest Reaction to John Dutton's Controversial Fate on Yellowstone
- A man in Iran guns down 12 relatives in a shooting rampage with a Kalashnikov rifle
- You Won't Be Able to Get These Photos of Lenny Kravitz Off Your Mind
- You Won't Believe These Celebrity Look-Alikes Aren't Actually Related
Recommendation
-
Conviction and 7-year sentence for Alex Murdaugh’s banker overturned in appeal of juror’s dismissal
-
Siesta Key's Madisson Hausburg Welcomes Baby 2 Years After Son's Death
-
Over 400 detained in Russia as country mourns the death of Alexei Navalny, Putin’s fiercest foe
-
Leaking underground propane tank found at Virginia home before deadly house explosion
-
US Election Darkens the Door of COP29 as It Opens in Azerbaijan
-
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami tickets: Here are the Top 10 highest-selling MLS games in 2024
-
Rescuers work to get a baby elephant back on her feet after a train collision that killed her mother
-
The Murderous Mindf--k at the Heart of Lover, Stalker, Killer