After the coup in Niger, the US is trying to maintain a vital air base
On an arid strip of land in the Sahara, U.S. Air Force Base 201 stands far from public view, on the edge of a remote town in one of the poorest countries in the world. Its role is more elusive than ever since it was completed nearly six years ago.
Most of the drones that once monitored jihadist activity in unstable African countries are grounded. Most of the Americans stationed at the $110 million base near the city of Agadez, Niger, sit quietly, embodying the uncertain future of the United States’ counterterrorism efforts in West Africa: hard to give up , even if it is ‘business as usual’ at the moment. , beyond the question.
Following a military coup in Niger in July, the United States and its European partners halted cooperation with the country, which had become one of the largest recipients of security and development aid in Africa over the past decade.
Like the ruling Nigerien junta strengthens his grip on powerthat the Biden administration is now facing take on new challenges in its fight against Islamist militants in Africa. Chief among them is how to resume operations at US Air Base 201 – the most important military asset in a region that is emerging as a global hub of terrorist activity.
Because the United States has labeled the takeover a coup, it is legally obliged to do so suspend security operations and development aid to Niger, and cannot fully resume them until democracy is restored. So while U.S. officials have indicated they are eager to restore security cooperation with the Nigerien government, doing so with former Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum under house arrest will require a diplomatic needle.
Complicating matters for Washington, European countries that have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and sent thousands of troops to Niger are divided over what to do next.
The European Union has suspended aid and at Niger’s request, about 2,000 European troops have left the country in recent months, leaving about 1,000 U.S. troops as the only Western presence in the country. But several European countries have recently signaled their willingness to normalize relations with the junta.
Then there is the looming threat from Russia, which is eager to exploit any rift in relations between Niger and Western countries to further expand its regional influence. The Kremlin, which recently signed a new defense deal with Niger, is already the preferred security partner of two neighboring countries fighting Islamist insurgencies: Mali and Burkina Faso. The three countries, now all ruled by military governments, have pledged to strengthen cooperation under a new security alliance.
“Russia will be there anyway – whether the US is at the table or not,” said Daniel Eizenga, a researcher at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a Defense Ministry research institute.
A U.S. military official said the Pentagon is discussing establishing new drone bases with several West African coastal countries as a backup to the landlocked base in Niger. The talks are still in the early stages and many details remain to be worked out, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. First the Wall Street Journal reported about Thursday’s discussions.
The official added that the U.S. military remains committed to preserving Air Base 201, the largest construction project ever undertaken by Air Force engineers alone, even as policy in the region is under discussion in Washington and any decisions have been postponed. for the time being due to the crises in Gaza and Ukraine.
However, Aneliese Bernard, a former foreign ministry adviser who worked in Niger in the late 2010s, said talks to move special forces and drone operations out of the country had begun some time ago.
“Once the coup happened in Niger, it became, ‘Yes, it’s probably moving to Ghana and Ivory Coast,’” said Ms. Bernard, now director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors, a Washington-based risk consultancy, referring to the two western coastal areas. African countries.
Now an estimated 11.5 million Nigeriens – 44 percent of the population – live in extreme poverty, according to the World BankSome analysts say Niger could have a strong incentive to improve relations with the United States and Europe to get aid and security money flowing again.
Attacks by militant groups have increased since the coup, US officials and analysts say, and hundreds of schools remain closed due to widespread insecurity. Foreign diplomats and humanitarian workers have left the country, and economic sanctions imposed by a bloc of West African countries have helped send food prices soaring and even blocked humanitarian aid at the border.
While anti-Western sentiment is running rampant in the capital Niamey, many Nigeriens elsewhere in the country feel differently, especially in Agadez, where the historic center includes the tallest mud mosque in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“We told the central authorities: ‘Don’t kick out the French and the Americans to bring in the Russians,’” said Mohamed Anacko, the chairman of the council in the Agadez region, where the US Air Base 201 is located. “We don’t need new settlers.”
Many Nigeriens may be comfortable with the presence of the United States, but the two countries still have a long way to go. Interactions between the US military and junta leaders are now limited to periodic phone conversations between General Michael Langley, the head of US Africa Command, and Brigadier General. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, the junta’s defense chief, Africa Command officials said.
For now, that leaves Air Base 201, that once served as a broader launching pad for monitoring activities of armed groups in North, West and even Central Africa, in limbo.
The US military continues to conduct unarmed drone surveillance missions to protect its troops in Niamey and Agadez. And under the obligation to warn, they pass on any serious threats they discover to the Nigeriens.
U.S. diplomats have indicated they want to restore ties with the junta and resume security operations at Air Base 201, but how they might achieve that remains unclear.
The new US ambassador to Niger, Kathleen FitzGibbon, one of Washington’s top Africa specialists, recently presented her credentials to the Nigerien government. During a trip to Niger last month — the second since the coup — Molly Phee, a senior State Department policy official, said the United States plans to resume security and development cooperation even as she called for a rapid transition to civilian rule and the release of Mr Bazoum, the deposed president.
But Mr Bazoum remains under house arrest with his wife and son in the presidential palace in Niamey, cut off from the rest of the world except for occasional visits from a doctor. In theory, the junta could announce a timeline for the transition to civilian rule, allowing the United States to resume some support, but only for transition, not for security purposes. However, the generals in power have so far refused to release Mr Bazoum or reveal a timeline.
Still, some European countries say they are ready to move forward, with or without Mr. Bazoum. During meetings last month with Nigerien officials in Niamey, the German defense minister pledged to resume cooperation in 2024. Other countries, such as Italy and Spain, are also ready to engage with the junta – and turn away from France, which has become increasingly isolated in its uncompromising stance towards the country’s military leaders.
But for now, Western efforts to strengthen governance in Niger have been put on hold indefinitely, diplomats and analysts say, and many doubt the rift can be repaired. “End of a love story,” said a European security official on condition of anonymity to speak openly about developments in Niger.
Still, Ms. Bernard, the former State Department adviser, said the comparison for the United States was a little different because of US Air Base 201.
“In the coastal countries they would have to start all over again,” she said, referring to recent reports that the United States is considering building new bases there, “while the Agadez base was the largest investment in American military history. I don’t see us deviating from it.”