Special operations forces will then depart Air Base 201 in Agadez, in the country's rural interior, by the September deadline, according to Langley. Air Base 201 serves as the main hub of US aerial intelligence collection and counterterrorism operations in West Africa. The US withdrawal from Niger comes as the latest in a series of setbacks for Washington's military strategy in Africa. Pentagon officials continue to try to find an alternative drone base in West Africa after the planned withdrawal from Air Base 201. China, which maintains its only overseas military base in Djibouti, is "actively seeking and engaging with a number of other countries on the periphery of coastal West Africa, both in the East and the West," Langley said Monday.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 24, 2024 21:15 UTC