Niger’s government announced it was terminating “with immediate effect” its military cooperation agreement with the United States.
The statement came just a day after a senior US delegation left Niger, following a three-day visit to renew contacts with the military junta that ousted the president and moved closer to Russia.
The statement said the administration had decided to “terminate immediately” agreements related to US Department of Defense military and civilian employees inside Niger.
The statement was read Saturday night on national television.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington was aware of the statement, and it came after “open discussions… about our concerns” with the junta’s “developments”.
Miller said in X that the US was still in touch with the junta and would provide updates “as needed.”
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The Pentagon provided a similar statement to AFP.
The US still has about 1,000 troops in Niger at a desert drone base built at a cost of US$100 million.
Movement there has been restricted since the July 2023 coup and Washington has limited aid to the government.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger a year ago in an effort to strengthen president Mohamed Bazoum, a staunch ally in the West’s security efforts against jihadists.
Just four months later, the military ousted Bazoum and placed him under house arrest.
The junta took a tough stance against former colonial power France, forcing the withdrawal of French troops who had been there for nearly a decade.
Niger’s military has in the past worked closely with the United States.
But the junta is seeking cooperation with Russia, while remaining distant from Moscow’s full embrace by military-ruled neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso. (AFP/Z-3)
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