Niger's government announced on Saturday that it was terminating its military cooperation agreement with the United States “immediately.”
Publication of:
1 minute
The declaration was issued a day after a senior U.S. delegation left Niger after a three-day visit to resume contacts with the military regime that ousted the president and moved closer to Russia.
The statement said the government has decided to “immediately denounce” the agreement regarding U.S. military personnel and U.S. Department of Defense personnel in Niger.
It was read out on state television Saturday evening.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S. government was aware of the statement and that it came after “a frank conversation…about our concerns” about the junta's “trajectory.”
Miller told X that the US remains in contact with the junta and will provide updates “as appropriate.”
The Pentagon provided a similar statement to AFP.
read moreMali, Burkina Faso and Niger's democratic transitions are in limbo after leaving ECOWAS
The United States still has about 1,000 troops stationed in Niger at a $100 million desert drone base.
Since the July 2023 coup, local movement has been restricted and the US government has cut aid to the government.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a rare visit to Niger a year ago, hoping to shore up President Mohamed Bazoum, a strong ally in Western security efforts against jihadists.
After just four months, the military sacked Bazoum and placed him under house arrest.
The military government took a hard line against France, its former colonial power, and forced the withdrawal of French troops for nearly 10 years.
Niger's military has worked closely with the United States in the past.
But while the junta has sought cooperation with Russia, it has stopped short of full-fledged inclusion of Moscow by its junta-run neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso.
(AFP)
