US reaches settlement with Niger’s military leaders to restart drone, crewed aircraft missions at two airbases.
The United States military has resumed operations in Niger, flying drones and different aircraft out of airbases in the nation greater than a month after a coup halted actions, the pinnacle of Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa stated.
Since the July coup that eliminated President Mohamed Bazoum, the roughly 1,100 US troopers deployed in the West African nation have been confined to their military bases.
General James Hecker stated on Wednesday that negotiations with the military rulers of Niger resulted in some intelligence and surveillance missions resuming.
“For a while, we weren’t doing any missions on the bases, they pretty much closed down the airfields,” Hecker informed reporters on the annual Air and Space Forces Association conference.
“Through the diplomatic process, we are now doing, I wouldn’t say 100 percent of the missions that we were doing before, but we’re doing a large amount of missions that we’re doing before,” he stated.
Hecker stated the US is flying each crewed and unmanned missions and that these flights resumed “within the last couple of weeks”.
The Pentagon stated final week that some US forces had been moved from Air Base 101 close to the capital Niamey, to a different base, Airport 201, in Agadez.
Agadez is positioned about 920km (some 570 miles) northeast of Niamey.
Only the Pentagon may name its drone base in Agadez, Niger – the most important “airman-built” venture in Air Force historical past – a “low-cost” facility. So far, it has price US taxpayers round 1 / 4-billion {dollars}. Full story @theintercept https://t.co/LDj3A4ASND pic.twitter.com/klDjtsCWvW
— Nick Turse (@nickturse) September 8, 2023
The US military has made Niger a major regional outpost for its patrols with armed drones and different operations in opposition to fighters and insurgent actions which have seized territory in the area, killed civilians and fought the armed forces.
West Africa recorded greater than 1,800 insurgent assaults in the primary six months of this 12 months, which killed practically 4,600 folks, in accordance with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
France, which stays an ally of ex-President Bazoum, has roughly 1,500 troopers in Niger. Declaring its continued help for the eliminated president, officers in Paris have known as the coup and its officers illegitimate.
Niger’s military leaders have additionally known as for the French military to go away the nation.
Speculation has swirled that France will probably be compelled right into a full military withdrawal, with a French defence ministry supply saying final week that the French military was holding talks with Niger’s military over pulling out “elements” of its presence in the nation.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/14/us-military-resumes-drone-crewed-aircraft-operations-in-post-coup-niger?traffic_source=rss
