The U.S. military withdrew its personnel from Niger’s Air Base 101 near the airport in the capital Niamey on Sunday, ahead of its exit from a major drone base near the desert city of Agadez in the coming weeks.
Niger’s ruling junta in April ordered the U.S. to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country following a coup last year in the West African nation.
The United States had around 650 soldiers in Niger as part of anti-jihadist missions in several Sahel nations of West Africa, including a major drone base near Agadez.
The focus will next shift to withdrawal from the $100 million drone base near Agadez in central Niger, which had provided crucial intelligence about jihadist-linked groups, U.S. Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman said on Friday. The pullout from that base, known as Air Base 201, will likely take place in August, he said. Niger’s ruling junta has given the U.S. until Sept. 15 to remove troops from its territory