Russian troops deploy to airbase housing US military in Niger: US official
Al Jazeera
US official says Russian and US troops do not mingle at Airbase 101 as Moscow’s forces have deployed to a separate hanger.
Russian military personnel have entered an airbase in Niger that is hosting US troops, a senior US defence official told the Reuters news agency, following a decision by Niger’s military rulers to expel US forces from the country.
The military officers currently ruling Niger told Washington in March to withdraw the nearly 1,000 US military personnel stationed in their country.
Prior to a military coup in July last year, Niger had been a key partner in the US’s fight against the ISIL (ISIS) group and al-Qaeda affiliates in the Sahel region of Africa, which is currently experiencing a surge in deadly violence.
A senior US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian troops were not mingling with US forces at the airbase as they were using a separate aircraft hanger at the site known as Airbase 101, located next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niger’s capital Niamey.
However, Russia’s deployment of military personnel to the base puts US and Moscow forces in close proximity at a time when relations between both countries are increasingly tense amid Washington’s support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion of its neighbour.
