Niger has forced the United States to end its military cooperation and begin withdrawing troops from the country, raising questions about new shifts in international relations in Northwest Africa.

The move comes a few days after Niger received its first batch of Russian military equipment, as part of expanding security cooperation with Moscow, coinciding with news of Niger’s intention to supply Iran with uranium.

Demonstrations began to erupt in the streets of the capital, Niamey, where demonstrators demanded the departure of US forces stationed in the north of the country, after Niger’s ruling military council announced the suspension of the military cooperation agreement with the United States, which has been in force since 2012.
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An “Il-76” transport plane loaded with a shipment of Russian humanitarian aid arrived in Niger, at the initiative of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Reports indicate increased Russia’s interaction with Niger, with the Pentagon cautiously reporting on the deployment of Russian troops on the territory of the capital’s military base.

A humanitarian aid flight from Moscow arrived in the Nigerien capital, where a large shipment of food and basic necessities was loaded onto trucks by the Niger army.

Sputnik Africa quoted a Nigerian military source as saying, “Russia has extended a helping hand to us and provided us with the necessary products, while other countries are besieging our state, and the general population is suffering.

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This aid comes as part of Russia’s support for the people of Niger, which has been provided significantly compared to the United States, which has ignored the suffering of the population at the expense of its military ambitions.

Relations between Russia and Niger developed even before last summer’s military coup that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum, with Russia supplying Niger with military helicopters.

Agreements have been concluded between the two parties on military cooperation, the supply of military products, joint training of forces and the exchange of counter-terrorism experience since 2017.

Russian experts recently arrived in Niger to train local security forces in the fight against terrorism.
The arrival of the Russian experts in Niger followed a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of Niger’s ruling National Council, General Abderrahmane Chiani, during which the two sides agreed to develop cooperation in various fields.
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The Pentagon announced on Thursday that a high-level U.S. delegation held talks in Niger to discuss the withdrawal of U.S. troops, which the country’s military leaders are demanding.

Nigerien Defense Minister Silifo Modi received the Pentagon delegation led by US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations Christopher Meyer, according to a Pentagon statement.

The talks focused on the withdrawal of U.S. troops deployed in Niger, where about 650 U.S. troops and a number of contract workers are present.

Niger’s transitional authorities said they aimed for an “orderly and safe withdrawal as soon as possible” of U.S. soldiers whose presence the regime has declared “illegal.

On the other hand, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, during his meeting on Wednesday with Niamey Foreign Minister in Tehran, Bakari Yao Sangari, announced Tehran’s readiness to cooperate with the ruling regime in Niger.

Raisi saluted “the resistance of the Nigerien people in the face of European hegemonic policies” and informed the Nigerien foreign minister of Iran’s readiness to cooperate with Niger, especially in the economic fields, AFP quoted the Iranian presidency as saying.
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Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have made strides towards establishing a confederation of the Sahel Alliance following their withdrawal from the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS).

The foreign ministers of the three countries met in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, to finalize the initial version of the founding treaty of the confederation.

During the meeting, the ministers held in-depth discussions on the legal and regulatory framework of the new confederation, and key strategies to improve coordination among the coalition countries.

The final communiqué of the meeting affirmed the commitment to operationalize the Confederation with the adoption of the Liptako-Gourma Pact, which was signed on September 16, 2023, and represents the formal basis for future cooperation.
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About 20 people were killed in an attack by armed bandits over the weekend, in a village in the Tillaberi region in Niger, near the border with Mali.

Nigerien Radio Voice of the Coast said: “The Tillaberi region is in a state of mourning after the attack carried out by armed bandits on Monday, May 20, 2024, an attack that unfortunately caused the death of about twenty people.”

The radio did not specify the circumstances of the attack but indicated that it occurred in the village of Jambala, on National Road No. 1, about thirty kilometers from Tillaberi, the large city in southeastern Niger, which is located 100 kilometers from the capital, Niamey.

The victims included women and children, according to information published by residents of the area on social media.
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Germany and Niger reached an agreement allowing “the temporary stay of German forces” in the country after the previous agreement expired on May 31.

According to a statement issued by the German Defense Ministry, “The agreement allows the German air base in Niamey to continue operating with a reduced number of employees, giving the two countries time to negotiate a new agreement on the survival of German forces.”

There are about 100 soldiers at the German military base in Niger, and it was used as a logistical platform for the United Nations mission in neighboring Mali, which completed its withdrawal from the country at the end of December 2023.
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The authorities in Niamey mobilized to protect oil and electrical installations and fuel depots in the capital, after a rebel group hostile to the ruling military junta threatened to blow them up.

The National Liberation Front, led by Mahmoud Salah, threatened to blow up vital installations in the country, prompting the regional council to discuss strengthening security in the capital and its surrounding areas.

The Front arose in August 2023 on the Libyan border, a month after the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum, demanding his release and the restoration of constitutional legitimacy.

Mahmoud Salah announced that he took up arms against the ruling military establishment, threatening to blow up oil facilities in the Agadim region in the northeast of the country, where oil wells are located.
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More than 269 out of 946 American soldiers stationed in Niger have left, after the signing of an agreement between Washington and the military junta in Niamey last May.

This announcement came through a joint statement issued yesterday, Friday, and signed by Colonel Mamman Sani Kyaw, Commander of the Nigerian Land Forces, and Major General Kenneth Eckman of the US Department of Defense.

This development was announced during a ceremony held at “Military Base 101” in Niamey, which witnessed the official launch of the first phase of the withdrawal of American military personnel and equipment.
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The Director General of Civil Protection in Niger, Colonel Boubacar Baku, announced the death of 21 people and the damage of about 6,000 others as a result of the heavy rains and floods that have swept the country since the end of May.

Baku explained in statements on public television that the toll includes eight deaths due to drowning and 13 others as a result of building collapses.

The floods also injured 26 people and killed about 4,000 heads of livestock, and the Maradi region, located in the south of the country, witnessed the largest number of victims, with 14 dead and more than 2,400 affected.

The Nigerian capital, Niamey, with a population of two million and known for suffering from deadly floods in the past, has not been directly affected so far.
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The Commander of the US Military Command in Africa announced the United States’ readiness to cooperate with Libya through diplomatic and defensive means.

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General Michael Langley confirmed that representatives of the Libyan General Command forces and the outgoing “National Unity” government will attend the African Chiefs of Defense Conference, which is organized by the United States and Botswana.

Langley noted that the ultimate goal of the parties concerned is to achieve stability and security, and they asked the United States to engage actively to achieve this.

He explained that countries in West and North Africa and the Sahel region contacted the United States to discuss security challenges and stressed that Libya is one of these countries.
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The US Army is preparing to end its presence at a major air base in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, by next Sunday.

This step comes in response to the demands of the ruling military junta in Niger, which last April told the United States to withdraw about a thousand soldiers.

Major General Kenneth Eckman of the US Air Force confirmed during a video conference that the US forces will hold a joint ceremony to hand over the base to the Nigerian government, which represents the closing of a long chapter of military cooperation in this vital region.

Simultaneously with the withdrawal, reports emerged that Russian forces began arriving in Niger, indicating a possible shift in security alliances in the region.
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Niger announced that it will host the first summit of the Sahel States Alliance, which it recently formed with Burkina Faso and Mali, on July 6 in the capital, Niamey.

This summit comes after the establishment of the alliance on September 16, 2023, and aims to enhance joint defense cooperation between the three countries.

The official statement issued by the Nigerien government explained that the summit will witness the presence of General Abderrahmane Chiane, the leader of the military authority in Niger, along with his counterparts Ibrahim Traoré from Burkina Faso and Assimi Goita from Mali.

This event anticipates the ECOWAS summit meetings, which reflects the strategic importance of the Sahel States Alliance in strengthening its position in regional and international politics.
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The “n-tv” portal reported, citing a document from the German Ministry of Defense, that Germany will abandon its air base in Niger, due to the collapse of negotiations regarding the legal immunity of German soldiers.

According to the ministry’s report submitted to the relevant committee of the German Parliament (Bundestag), the Niamey base will be closed by August 31, and German military personnel will be transferred to Germany.

Germany has used this base since 2013 as a supply center for its armed forces in neighboring Mali, which were stationed there as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA).
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The high-security Koutukale prison, near the Nigerian capital Niamey, has seen hundreds of prisoners escape following a massive mutiny involving jihadist militiamen.

Until now, the exact number of escaped prisoners is not known, but the prison contained about 200 people accused of terrorism, according to what the Daily Post reported.

According to eyewitnesses, gunshots and explosions were heard in the area at midday on Thursday, prompting guards to intervene, but by then the inmates had already taken control of the prison, smashing the armored gates and barbed wire fences.

Prison authorities said that this is not the first time the prison has witnessed escape attempts, as two previous attempts were thwarted in 2016 and 2019.
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The Nigerien army announced that a large number of escapees from the high-security Kotukale prison, near the capital Niamey, have been arrested after a mutiny that led to the escape of hundreds of detainees.

The army stated in a statement carried by Radio ‘France International” in its African bulletin on Monday that search operations are still continuing to find the rest of the fugitives.

The statement explained that the official number of fugitives who have been arrested has not been announced yet, even though a few days have passed since the mass escape.

The statement indicated that the prisoners in Kotukale prison are considered among the most dangerous, as they include extremists linked to “Al-Qaeda” and I”SIS”.
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