Russian military stationed in Niger at the same air base as the United States
Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin commented on the arrival of the Russian military at the US base in Niger. According to him, the United States is monitoring the situation, and Austin also turned out to be not against such a neighborhood.
The Russians are in a separate complex. They don’t have access to US forces or our equipment. My focus is always on the safety and security of our forces. (…) At the moment I do not see a serious problem that would concern the protection of our forces
The Russian military entered the US base after demands from the Niger authorities for the withdrawal of US troops
Reuters reported on Friday, May 3, that servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces were stationed at military air base 101 occupied by US troops. This happened against the backdrop of demands from the authorities of the African country for the withdrawal of thousands of American troops from Niger.
Despite the fact that the Russians use a separate hangar, the territory of the airbase is quite small, which is why the troops of the two countries found themselves in close proximity amid tensions between Moscow and Washington over the conflict in Ukraine, journalists note.
Lloyd Austin
Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
An agency source at the Pentagon called the situation “not very good, but manageable in the short term.” According to media reports, the United States made it clear to the Niger authorities that its soldiers cannot be at the base with the Russian military.
In April, the United States announced the withdrawal of the bulk of troops from Niger and Chad
At the end of April, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder reported that the United States would withdraw the bulk of its troops from Niger and Chad. He called the current situation a temporary step “as part of the ongoing review of security cooperation.”
It is known that there are a thousand American troops in Niger, and a hundred in Chad.
According to Western media, African countries are getting rid of US soldiers under the influence of Russia, which is strengthening relations with states across the continent. “Governments in a number of countries are at a turning point. As Moscow spreads its narratives in the region (…). This is NATO’s southern flank. We need to be able to maintain influence throughout the Maghreb, from Morocco to Libya,” noted the head of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), Michael Langley.
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Against this backdrop, the administration of US President Joe Biden admitted the failure of its policy in Africa. The leaders of these countries chose to cooperate with Moscow instead of Washington after its attempts to persuade African countries to carry out a coup and hold democratic elections.
According to American officials, African leaders believe that Russia can provide them with security assistance that the United States has not done.
Photo: Adrees Latif / Reuters
It was planned to deploy the Russian “African Korps” from former fighters of the Wagner PMC in Niger.
Bloomberg sources spoke in January about plans to deploy the Russian “Afrika Korps” in Niger, which was supposed to include recruits and ex-fighters of the private military company (PMC) Wagner. In total, they wanted to place about 20 thousand people in five African countries: Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, Central African Republic and Niger.
In April, Russian specialists arrived to Niger to train local forces in counter-terrorism. “At the moment, the Afrika Korps will be here establishing relationships, as well as joint formation and training of the Niger army,” said one of the arriving Russian specialists.
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