While the situation remains very uncertain in Niger, following the coup d’état of July 26, which led to the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum, the United States announced, Thursday, September 7, that it had begun the repositioning of its troops – somewhat 1,000 soldiers in total – within the country. They will stay in Niger but leave the base that they previously shared with the French soldiers in the capital Niamey, to redeploy to the base in Agadez (north). This decision marks a major distancing by Washington from Paris, which has engaged in a political standoff with the junta led by General Tiani. Since the ultimatum launched a month ago by the putschists, France has refused to withdraw its troops, even if discussions have recently started.
The Pentagon justified the move as a “precautionary measure.” “There is no immediate threat to our personnel or violence on the ground,” assured a spokesperson, Sabrina Singh. The defense department nevertheless decided to move its personnel and assets “from air base 101 in Niamey to air base 201 in Agadez”, further north in the country, she said. Agadez is a logistics hub for the American army in Niger, where its drones are prepositioned. Only a limited number of soldiers will remain in the capital.
Until July 26, the United States provided training to the Nigerien army. They also made available to French and Nigerien troops their significant intelligence resources for the fight against armed terrorist groups. Since the putsch, even if Washington has been much less critical of the junta than Paris, security cooperation with Niger has been temporarily suspended.
Floating situation
There is “no connection” between the movement of American troops and “what the French army is doing at the moment”, defended the Pentagon spokeswoman on Thursday. In a very volatile context, in Niger, base 101 in Niamey risks becoming an important place of fixation of tensions. Several anti-French demonstrations have taken place nearby in recent weeks. The security of this area, where European soldiers – notably German and Italian – are also stationed is provided by the Nigerien security forces, but there is no guarantee that this operation will continue.
The balance of power between Paris and Niamey also appears to be still very lively, and discussions on the terms of a possible French military withdrawal – which has some 1,500 soldiers in Niger – confirmed on September 5, remain obscure. “The options [of withdrawal] have not been decided,” a French official familiar with the matter told reporters on Thursday. “A departure is something that must be anticipated, negotiated, he added, and the French military obey the French president.” However, for the time being, “the decision to leave has not been taken”, he stressed.
A situation of uncertainty which could continue for the French soldiers in Niger. On September 7, in a letter addressed to the leaders of political parties, summarizing their meeting at the end of August, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), the Head of State indicated that the principle of a parliamentary debate on the French presence in Africa was “decided”, but he did not put forward a deadline. This debate will take place “in the fall”, he only clarified. In Niamey, it was also in June that the last troop change took place with, among them, soldiers from the 2nd regiment and the 3rd marine infantry regiment. However, the mandates of military personnel in external operations are traditionally three to four months.
A rapidly deteriorating security situation
The climate is also complicated for diplomatic staff as Paris has decided to maintain its ambassador in Niamey, Sylvain Itté, against the advice of the ruling junta. Faced with rising tensions and the risk of being targeted, all French personnel maintained in Niger were encouraged to empty their homes. But on September 3, a moving truck, which had been chartered to collect all of these personal effects and return them to the French embassy, was stopped by the Nigerien police and all of its contents were seized.
An episode which is at the origin of the dissemination, on social networks, of false information, suggesting that France uses Burkinabe uniforms for clandestine operations. According to information communicated to the French press on Thursday, it is in fact a single uniform which belonged to the deputy defense attaché of the embassy, stationed in Burkina Faso until June and transferred to Niamey during the summer. He was made to wear this uniform for an official ceremony, according to images published since on social networks.
The security situation is also deteriorating rapidly, to the east and north of the capital Niamey since the putsch. Faced with the threat of possible military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Nigerien army is obliged to withdraw certain forces usually dedicated to the fight against terrorism to reposition them on other positions. Around ten jihadist attacks have been recorded since the end of July, during which 54 civilians and 51 soldiers of the Nigerien armed forces were killed, not counting the injured. That’s an increase of more than 50% in deaths in one month, with 446 Nigeriens dying between January 1 and July 26.