In March, Niger suspended military cooperation with the United States after military leaders cut ties with France last year.
Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets in Niger’s capital to demand the withdrawal of US troops after the military government further changed its strategy by ending a military deal with the US and welcoming Russian military trainers.
Arm in arm, the crowd marched through central Niamey on Saturday waving Nigerian flags in a demonstration reminiscent of the anti-French protests that spurred the withdrawal of French forces from Niger last year after the army seized power in a coup.
A handwritten sign in English read: “US marches out of Niger,” a sign of support for the military government and its decision in mid-March to revoke an agreement that had allowed around 1,000 US military personnel to enter its territory operate from two bases.
“We are here to say no to the American base, we don’t want Americans on our soil,” protester Maria Saley told Reuters on the sidelines of the march.
The crowd could also be heard chanting “Down with American imperialism” and “The liberation of the people is on the march.”
Until the coup, Niger had remained a key security partner for France and the United States, which used it as a base as part of international efforts to contain a decades-old insurgency in West Africa’s Sahel region.
In March, the country suspended its military agreement with the United States. According to a White House report to Congress, about 650 U.S. military troops were deployed in Niger as of December. The U.S. military operates a large air base in the Nigerian city of Agadez, about 920 km (572 miles) from Niamey, and uses it for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations.
Additionally, a drone base called Air Base 201 was built near Agadez at a cost of more than $100 million. Since 2018, the base has been used for attacks on IS fighters (ISIS) and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, in the Sahel.
Connections to Russia
Meanwhile, France also agreed to withdraw its troops last September following the July coup that toppled democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
The new authorities in Niger joined military-led governments in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso and ended military agreements with former Western allies, exited the regional political and economic bloc ECOWAS and also promoted closer ties with Russia.
The arrival of Russian military trainers and equipment on Wednesday was further evidence of the military government’s openness to closer cooperation with Moscow, which wants to strengthen its influence in Africa.
Some Russian flags were visible at the protest, but some citizens told Reuters on Friday that they did not want the welcome Russian defense aid to lead to a permanent presence in Niger.
“We must not subsequently see Russian military bases being set up abroad,” said Abdoulaye Seydou, coordinator of the M62 coalition of civil society groups, which led anti-French protests last year.
His concerns were echoed by student Souleymane Ousmane: “That’s how the French, the Americans and all the other countries settled in Niger – through military cooperation they ended up occupying large parts of our country,” he told Reuters.
However, it is still unclear whether and when US troops will withdraw.