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| Africa North |
| Russian troops appear near a US base in Niger |
| 2024-05-04 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] The United States tried to the last to maintain a military presence in Niger, and the authorities in Niamey had to begin deploying the Russian contingent before the Pentagon removed its personnel. At the same time, Washington has somewhere to relocate its Niger bases in order to maintain its presence in West Africa. At the same time, with the departure of the Americans, it is likely that Niger’s military cooperation with Russia will further deepen. Ivan Loshkarev, a researcher at the Center for the Study of Political Elites at the Institute of International Studies at MGIMO, shared this opinion with a Regnum correspondent, commenting on the information that the Russian military appeared at an air base in the capital of Niger, where American military personnel are stationed. The US, as the expert pointed out, still has enough opportunities to maintain the previous scale of its military presence in Africa at the expense of other countries on the continent, led by regimes much more loyal to Washington. The Pentagon constantly operates about thirty military bases in Africa, including five large ones, including a second base in Niger - in Agadez, where drones are tested. It is not yet clear where exactly the American Niger bases will move, but, according to Loshkarev, the most likely options for a base from Agadez are Mauritania and Cote d'Ivoire. At the same time, the Niger authorities clearly decided to speed up the US withdrawal from their country, the Africanist noted. The Pentagon was literally shown the door by sending Russian troops into the airfield, which the Americans had not yet left. “The Americans are in no hurry to leave, and they have spent the last few months not preparing for evacuation, but trying to persuade the Niger authorities to abandon their decision, accompanying the persuasion with threats. So there is an element of irritation in this move by Niamey. A similar situation was with the French, who at first did not want to leave under the pretext that they did not recognize the new authorities and, accordingly, did not recognize their decisions. And for the Niger authorities this is a matter of authority, I would say. That is, if you don’t have power, then they won’t listen to you. If you have power, they listen to you,” the expert commented. Time will tell how the situation will develop in Niger, Loshkarev noted. The fact is that one of the key risks for this large West African country with rich mineral deposits is the terrorist threat, which, however, is still much less urgent than in a number of other countries in the natural African strip known as the Sahel. “But the trend in recent years shows that terrorist activity in the region is gradually moving from north to south. And if this continues to happen, then Niger’s cooperation with Russia will strengthen, and they will “ask” not only the French and Americans, but also the Italians - they are also present there. Then, apparently, Europe’s military presence in Niger will end,” the expert said. The Russian military appeared in the capital of Niger, Niamey, on the territory of the air base where military personnel from the United States are stationed. This was reported by Reuters on May 2, citing a Pentagon representative. According to the agency, Russian military personnel entered the territory of Air Base 101 in Niamey, located next to the Amani Diori International Airport. The move follows Niger's decision to expel nearly 1,000 US troops from the country. A Reuters source clarified that Pentagon representatives had no contact with the Russians who occupied a separate hangar at the air base. “The situation is not very good, but in the short term it is controllable,” the agency’s interlocutor said. As Regnum reported, in mid-March the Niger authorities broke the agreement with the United States, which allowed the American military to be on the territory of the West African country. A representative of the new Niger authorities explained that this decision was made after Washington violated diplomatic protocol. In April, the government of neighboring Chad also threatened to terminate the agreement with the United States. In an official letter, the American military was demanded to leave the military base located in N'Djamena. More from regnum.ru US military in Niger declares heightened alert due to Russia The US military has declared increased combat readiness due to the deployment of Russian troops in Niger. This was reported by a source in the security forces of the African state. It is clarified that the Russian military is stationed at the 101st air base in the capital of Niger, Niamey, next to the Americans. About 150 Italian soldiers and about 100 Germans are also serving there. At the same time, Italians and Germans behave calmly. “The Americans have declared increased combat readiness, constantly wear helmets and body armor and behave extremely nervously,” Gazeta.Ru quoted the source as saying. As Regnum previously reported, Reuters, citing a Pentagon representative, reported that Russian military personnel entered the airbase in Niamey. This step followed the decision of the Niger authorities to expel almost a thousand US military personnel from the country. It was clarified that the American military had no contact with the Russians. Later, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the United States was closely monitoring the situation with the presence of Russian military personnel at the air base in Niger. According to him, the Russian military are located in a separate complex. He added that he does not yet see this as a significant problem in terms of protecting American forces. Russia is developing relations with African countries in all areas, including defense, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 3, commenting on reports of the appearance of Russian troops at a US military base in Niger. In March, Niger authorities terminated a military agreement with the United States that allowed American military personnel to remain in the country. Niger's Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba said the country is interested in the Russian military training its troops. Even more from regnum.ru Pentagon says it was closely monitoring the situation at the airbase in Niger. The United States is closely monitoring the situation with the presence of Russian military personnel at the air base in Niger, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said at a press conference on May 3. “Russian troops are present, but do not overlap with American troops at Air Base 101, located next to Diori Hamani International Airport in the Niger capital Niamey,” Al Jazeera reports the words of the head of the Pentagon. According to Austin, the Russian military is located in a separate complex and does not have access to US forces and American equipment. He added that he does not yet see this as a significant problem in terms of protecting American forces. Russian troops have been stationed at an air base in Niger that houses US troops since Niger authorities told Washington in March that the US must withdraw nearly 1,000 troops stationed in the country. As Regnum reported, in March the Niger authorities terminated the military agreement with the United States, which allowed American military personnel to remain in the country. Niger's Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba said the country is interested in the Russian military training its troops. It was noted that the US decision to withdraw troops from Niger was a strategic victory for Russia. Russian flags were raised in the capital of Niger on May 2. The tricolor was hoisted at 15 roundabouts in the country Adds RIA Novosti on their V Kontakte page: “The Russians are located at the 101st airbase next to the Americans. About 150 Italian soldiers and about a hundred Germans are also serving there.The Americans have declared increased combat readiness, constantly wear helmets, body armor and behave extremely nervously,” the agency’s interlocutor said. The source added that the Germans and Italians are behaving calmly. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #1 In, at and on - not near |
| Posted by: Clem+Elmish4239 2024-05-04 15:48 |