U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed on Friday that American troops are sharing space on Airbase 101, a facility in the capital of Niger, with Russian military forces, but dismissed the Russians’ presence as “not a significant issue here.”
Reuters reported late on Friday that the government of Niger – a military junta known as the “National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland” that took power in a televised coup in July – had allowed Russian forces onto the airbase.
“A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces were not mingling with U.S. troops but were using a separate hangar at Airbase 101, which is next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger’s capital,” Reuters relayed.
The anonymous official described the situation as “not great.”
Asked about the report of Russian troops at Airbase 101, Austin confirmed that the Russian soldiers were in the facility.
“The Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to US forces or access to our equipment,” Austin claimed during a press conference in Hawaii. “And this is something that, you know, again, I’m always focused on the safety and the protection of our troops, something that we’ll continue to watch.”
“But right now, I don’t see, I don’t see a significant issue here in terms of our force protection,” Austin added.
The Russian military presence in Niger is reportedly a direct result of the coup, which placed former presidential guard leader Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani in power. The “National Council” claimed in its initial message assuming power that it would not break any international agreements made by the government of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, but it rapidly moved to distance Niger from its Western allies. It has taken its most aggressive moves against France, its former colonial ruler, which completed the removal of its troops in December.
The relationship with the administration of leftist American President Joe Biden has been tremendously fraught, as well, characterized by American delegations repeatedly traveling to meet coup leaders in Niger and coming to no significant agreements on the status of the United States presence in the country.
Following the latest visit by American officials to Niger, in March, coup spokesman Col. Amadou Abdramane announced that Tchiani was forcing America to end its military presence in the country on the grounds that the Biden regime had been “condescending” to the junta.
“The U.S. presence on the territory of the Republic of Niger is illegal and violates all the constitutional and democratic rules which would require the sovereign people,” Abdramane said, adding that the coup condemned “with force the patronizing attitude accompanied by the threat of retaliation on the part of the American delegation.”
Abdramane noted in the national address making the announcement that Niger was pursuing closer ties with Russia to buy military equipment, presumably to replace the protection from U.S. forces. Subsequent reports suggested that the Nigerien coup regime leaders were particularly outraged by American officials discouraging them from pursuing closer ties to Russia, Iran, and other enemies of the United States. Echoing those early reports, Reuters cited an anonymous American official in its report on Thursday who said that the Americans told the coup regime that Washington would not agree to sharing military facilities with the Russians, and the Nigerians “did not take that well.”
The status of America’s troops in Niger remains unclear. Following the call for America to “immediately” withdraw its troops from Niger in March, the Pentagon claimed that it was maintaining “ongoing discussions” with the coup regime. The troops, at press time, are believed to remain in Niger. In April, the Biden administration announced that it would indeed withdraw from Niger, but the specifics of that process remain unknown at press time.
The United States is believed to have an estimated 1,000 service members stationed in the country, present there as a result of agreements with Bazoum to combat joint terrorist threats, particularly against increasingly belligerent jihadist groups in the greater Sahel region. Some reports indicate that most Americans are now stationed not in Airbase 101, but in Airbase 201 in Agadez, a facility that Reuters noted cost $100 million in American taxpayers’ dollars to build.
A Congressional report obtained by Breitbart News in April suggested that American troops in Niger are languishing in unacceptable conditions, facing shortages of basic medicine and other goods and denied information on when, or if, they will be relieved of their duties. The report, from the office of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), described conditions at Airbase 101, where the Russians are now believed to be stationed.
The situation, the report detailed, is “preventing the delivery of mail, necessary medical supplies, blood to replenish the blood bank (which requires constant turnover due to expiration windows), equipment and repair supplies; and other routine materiel from the United States.”
“Personnel rotations for service members have been halted, leaving our troops stranded without any indication of relief or return home, as replacements [aren’t] authorized to enter Niger,” the report continued.
The report also revealed that Nigerien coup authorities were offering Russians and other “near-peer adversaries” “unfettered access to the country.”
The Financial Times reported on April 23 that Russia sent 100 troops into Niger that month, following a call between Tchiani and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Some reports have described the Russian troops as “military instructors.”
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