U.S. service members bid farewell to their colleagues as they board a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft departing Niamey, Niger. About 700 troops remain in Niger, where the military is withdrawing following a coup. The departure is expected to last through September. (U.S. Africa Command)
Hundreds of U.S. troops are still in Niger, where they are working on shutting down two military sites after being ordered out of the country.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh on Monday said about 700 military personnel are in the West African country, down from the roughly 1,000 who were there before troops began their withdrawal.
On June 7, U.S. Africa Command began pulling forces out of Niger, with service members boarding a C-17 aircraft at a base in the capital city of Niamey. For years, AFRICOM has worked out of that site, known as Air Base 101, and a separate base in the city of Agadez.
The Agadez location, built at a cost of $110 million, served as the military’s main hub in West Africa, where drone surveillance missions were carried out in support of counterterrorism efforts in the region.
However, last summer’s coup in Niger, which ousted the country’s elected government, upended U.S. ties with the country.
Still, U.S. military officials say they are coordinating closely with Niger’s military throughout the drawdown.
In a joint statement earlier this month, U.S. and Nigerien military officials said both countries were “committed to completing a safe, orderly and responsible withdrawal by Sept. 15.”
