The United States still has "shared security objectives" with Niger, whose ruling junta demanded its forces leave the West African nation, Major General Kenneth Ekman, a senior military officer for US Africa Command, has told AFP.
The US military on Monday withdrew from a final base in Niger – a drone facility at Agadez – and handed it over to the authorities in the Sahelian country, where military leaders seized power a year ago.
"We still have some shared security objectives. We have completely honoured their sovereignty. They asked us to leave, we obliged, and we have done that peacefully and respectfully," Ekman said in a telephone interview with AFP on Tuesday.
He said the next step would be to listen to Niger's needs "for a future security relationship with the United States".
Military equipment to be transported by road
"Their condition was that they did not want to talk about the future until the withdrawal was complete," Ekman, who coordinated the pullout from Niger, added.
Just months after French forces were told to quit the country, Niger made the same demand of US troops, saying it was scrapping a military cooperation agreement with Washington in March that it claimed was "illegal."
A timetable was quickly agreed by the two countries, setting September 15 for completing the US withdrawal.
Around 10 US military personnel remain on the ground in the capital Niamey, notably to coordinate the movement of military equipment, which will leave the country by road.
Fight against insurgents
In recent years, Niger has been a lynchpin in US and French strategy to combat insurgents in West Africa, especially since the military seized power in Mali and Burkina Faso, becoming hostile to Western armed forces.
Just over 1,000 US soldiers were deployed to Niger as part of an international effort to suppress insurgent forces that regularly strike across the region.
American troops were divided between a base in Niamey, handed over to Niger authorities in July, and the northern Agadez base.
The latter has since 2019 enabled air surveillance missions to be carried out up to the borders of Libya, Chad, Nigeria and Mali.
Russian presence
Asked about the possibility of staying in Niger despite the presence of Russian instructors and an anticipated closer relationship between the junta and Moscow, Ekman said Russia's presence in Africa was "not new."
"If you're in the Africa security space, Russian equipment is all around you. The world is becoming more multipolar and our African partners have choices," he said.
"However, wherever Africa Corps is, or where Wagner is, it becomes difficult for us to partner because of their methods."
The term "instructors" is generally used to mean former fighters from Russia's Wagner mercenary group, now regrouped under a new body called the Africa Corps.
'Partner willingness'
"We want to have a security relationship with every country in Africa, but that varies by degree depending on our shared interests and partner willingness," Ekman said.
Asked about redeployment to another African country, he did not name specific countries.
"In Chad, after their May 6 election, they appear ready to have a conversation on future partnership for Sahel security," he said.
But the next step is dialogue with partners to understand their needs, he added, without specifying countries. Last month, Ekman said the United States would continue to work with Côte d'Ivoire security forces.
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