A U.S. airman assigned to the 409th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron participates in a mass casualty training exercise at Air Base 201, Niger, Nov. 28, 2023. The U.S. has paused its counterterrorism operations and began removing some forces from Niger after the July coup, but continues to maintain its base presence and drone operations in the country. (Rose Gudex/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Africa Command on Friday said force levels are holding steady at roughly 1,000 American military personnel in Niger, where operations have slowed down in the aftermath of a July coup in the country.
The personnel are a mix of U.S. troops and military civilians, said AFRICOM, which added that the overall numbers can fluctuate at any given time.
The White House last week in a letter of notice to Congress reported there were 648 U.S. military personnel in the country. The letter didn’t make a distinction between uniformed service members and military-affiliated civilians.
The U.S. began removing some forces in Niger after the July coup while concentrating others at a facility on the outskirts of the Sahara Desert city of Agadez known as Air Base 201.
The U.S. was forced to end its collaboration with Niger on counterterrorism efforts, in accordance with American rules that prohibit partnership with military juntas. But the U.S. military has shown no sign of leaving Niger or the roughly $110 million drone base it established there several years ago.
