US soldiers vacated their base in Niamey on Monday night, with the final group of military personnel stationed at the Agadez base in the north of the country set to remain until September 15. This was announced in a joint communiqué by authorities from both countries.
"The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Niger and the US Department of Defense announce that the withdrawal of US forces and equipment from the 101st Air Base in Niamey is complete," the statement read. Effective cooperation and communication between Nigerian and US forces allowed the operation to be completed ahead of schedule and without any complications.
The last flight carrying soldiers from the Niamey base was scheduled to depart at 23:00 local time on July 7 (01:00 on July 8 Moscow time). The withdrawal ceremony at the military base in Niamey was attended by Colonel Maman Sani Kiaw, Chief of Staff of the Niger Army, and General Kenneth Eckman from the US Department of Defense.
A total of 766 US soldiers have already left Niger, out of an estimated 950 US forces present in the country. Since May, two Raptor helicopters and four drones have also been relocated, along with 1,593 tons of equipment.
"US troops will now focus on withdrawing from Air Base 201 in Agadez.
Nigerian and US officials are determined to ensure a safe, orderly withdrawal by September 15, 2024," the communiqué elaborated.
The US military had been deployed in Niger to combat terrorism and maintained a significant drone base in Agadez. However, in March, the Nigerian authorities terminated the military cooperation agreement with the US.
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Based on materials from TASS