Russia undermining relationship of critical West African ally with the US, officials say

A critical US partner in northwest Africa is turning toward Russia, amid warnings from the top US commander in the continent that the Russians are trying to “take over” the entire Sahel region of Africa.

A critical US partner in northwest Africa is turning toward Russia amid warnings from the top US commander in the continent that the Russians are trying to “take over” the entire Sahel region of Africa. Niger, which has served as a crucial foothold for US counterterrorism operations in the region for nearly a decade, announced Saturday that it was ending the accord that has allowed US military personnel and civilian staff to operate in the country since 2014. The announcement came days after a tense meeting between Niger’s military junta, which seized power in a July 2023 coup, and US diplomatic and military officials including Gen. Michael Langley, commander of US Africa Command, and Celeste Wallander, the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, defense officials told CNN. In that meeting, the US delegation expressed concern about the escalating Russian military presence in Niger, officials said, and particularly about the future of Air Base 101 in Niger’s capital and whether it will be ceded to the Russians, officials said.  The discussion angered the junta leaders, who felt like they were being lectured to, despite the US cutting off much of its military and foreign assistance to Niger late last year following the coup. “When it comes to choosing diplomatic, strategic and military partners, the government of Niger regrets the willingness of the American delegation to deny the sovereign people of Niger the right to choose its partners and the types of partnerships likely to help it to truly fight terrorism, even though the United States of America has unilaterally decided to suspend all cooperation between our two countries,” Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, a Nigerien military spokesman, said in a statement Saturday, adding that the US delegation had a “condescending attitude” toward the Nigeriens. The intensifying military cooperation between Russia and Niger is central to the dispute between the US and the Nigerien junta, officials said. Russia and Niger agreed to strengthen their military ties in January, Russia’s Defense Ministry said at the time.