Hundreds of citizens protested in Niger’s capital on Saturday, demanding the withdrawal of United States forces amid the arrival of Russian military instructors.
In central Niamey (Niger capital), protesters linked arms and waved Nigerien flags, echoing the anti-French demonstrations that contributed to France’s military exit following last year’s coup.
A hand-held sign in English proclaimed, “USA rush out of Niger,” demonstrating support for the junta’s mid-March decision to cancel an agreement that permitted roughly 1,000 US military staff to operate from two bases on Nigerien soil.
- “We’re here to say no to the American base. We don’t want Americans on our soil,” a protester on the sidelines of the march told Reuters.
Russia supplies military equipment to Niger
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Niger state television RTN reported that military instructors and personnel from Russia’s defense ministry have arrived in the country.
During a Thursday broadcast, RTN aired footage of a military cargo plane being unloaded while personnel in fatigues observed. The channel reported that this deployment was the result of a recent agreement to enhance cooperation between Niger’s junta and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- “We are here to train the Nigerien army … (and) to develop military cooperation between Russia and Niger,” said a man in camouflage uniform, who RTN said was one of the instructors.
- RTN also said Russia had agreed to install an anti-aircraft system in Niger. “Our airspace will now be better protected,” the broadcaster said.
Russia, which has been striving to expand its influence in Africa by promoting itself as a nation without a colonial history on the continent, did not immediately respond to comments.
What we know so far
Russian instructors arrived following Niger’s mid-March decision to terminate a military agreement with the United States, which had previously permitted Pentagon staff to operate from two bases on its territory, including a drone base constructed at a cost exceeding $100 million.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon later stated that US officials had raised concerns with Niger regarding its potential ties with Russia before the junta terminated the agreement that governed the presence of about 1,000 US military personnel.
- Since 2020, a series of military coups in Niger and its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso have employed a similar strategy, altering international approaches to addressing a decade-long insurgency battle.
- The three juntas In Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have terminated military agreements with long-standing allies like France, cultivated stronger relationships with Russia, and established a cooperation pact called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
- Since the coups, violence in the region has escalated, reaching a peak in 2023. Conflict-related deaths in the central Sahel increased by 38% over the previous year, with the US-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED reporting more than 8,000 fatalities in Burkina Faso alone last years.
- The instability has fueled a long-running humanitarian crisis in the region bordering the Sahara desert, already one of the world’s poorest. As of March, over three million people were displaced there, the International Organization of Migration said on Monday.
