The United States has announced that its remaining troops stationed at Niger’s Agadez drone base will withdraw by early August. General Kenneth Ekman, the US commander for Africa, announced this development on Wednesday, stating that the withdrawal is well ahead of the scheduled deadline of September 15. The US began the withdrawal of its troops from the West African country in early July but about 200 soldiers remain at the Agadez drone base. The US troops’ withdrawal follows that of French forces, which took place last December. Niger’s military junta, which took power in a coup last year, had ordered the withdrawal of these troops which had jointly operated to keep the threat of jihadist forces in the region at bay.
SOURCE: FRANCE 24
