Tech. Sgt. Jacob Kozlowski prepares to download cargo from a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules at Air Base 101, in Niger in February 2023. Russian forces are now operating inside the base, but they pose little risk to American personnel there, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said this week. (Michael Matkin/U.S. Ari Force)
STUTTGART, Germany — Russian forces are now operating inside an air base in Niger where U.S. troops also are positioned, but they pose little risk to American personnel there, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said this week.
“I’m always focused on the safety and protection of our troops. ... But right now, I don’t see a significant issue here in terms of our force protection,” Austin said during a news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Austin said the Russians are in a separate compound at the base in the Nigerien capital of Niamey. The Russian troops “don’t have access to U.S. forces or access to our equipment,” Austin said.
Austin’s comments came in response to a question about the situation in Niger following a report by Reuters, which stated that the Russians were using a separate hangar at Air Base 101 in Niamey.
U.S. Africa Command, which is based in Stuttgart, said Friday that the arrival of the Russians happened several weeks ago.
The base in Niamey comprises several different compounds, which were previously set up for visiting foreign forces, such as the French, AFRICOM said.
“This is not a new development. However, we do continue to monitor the situation and to take all necessary and prudent measures to ensure the security of U.S. forces, facilities and equipment,” AFRICOM said in a command statement.
The Russian presence at that base, positioned next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, is the latest twist in the unraveling of AFRICOM’s mission in Niger.
U.S. military officials are in Niger for discussions related to the looming departure of roughly 1,100 troops from the country. The talks are in response to a demand by Niger’s military junta last month that all U.S. forces leave.
While Niger has been the centerpiece of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in western Africa, the overthrow of the country’s democratic government last summer brought most of those operations to a halt.
Since then, U.S. troops have been waiting it out in Niger, mostly concentrated at a separate drone base in the city of Agadez that went into operation several years ago at a cost of more than $110 million.
The breakdown in relations between the U.S. and Niger’s military junta has opened the door to Russia, which has dispatched troops to the country at the invitation of Niger’s new leaders.
For the U.S., a series of coups in western Africa, including Burkina Faso and Mali, has left the military with a shrinking number of partners for its counterterrorism efforts.
Chad, historically another close military partner, last month followed Niger and indicated that it wanted U.S. troops out of its country. Talks between Chad and the United States remain ongoing.
