US agrees to pull troops out of Niger

Military leaders in the West African nation have sought closer ties with Russia since seizing power in a coup last year.

On Friday the US also announced than it had agreed to close down its drone base near Agadez, in the Sahara desert.

Niger is in Africa’s Sahel region, which is considered the new global epicentre of the Islamic State group.

The US has relied on Niger as its primary base for monitoring regional jihadist activity.

An American delegation is to head within days to Niger’s capital, Niamey, to arrange an orderly withdrawal of its more than 1,000 troops.

Friday’s announcement follow talks in Washington between the US deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, and Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. It is seen as a blow to US President Biden’s administration, which had resisted the move.

The US’s $100m (£80m) military base there was built just six years ago, and has played a key role in the US and French strategy to combat

Fighting began last week between forces from the two regions in Raya Alamata district, which is claimed by both.

Officials in Amhara have accused forces from Tigray launching an invasion, but former rebels in Tigray deny this.

A two-year civil war ended in late 2022 in Ethiopia, after central government signed a peace deal with Tigray forces.

However, issues of contested areas, disarmament of ex-combatants, and the fate of hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans forced out of their homes during the war remain unresolved.

The contested district of Raya Alamata had been under Tigray until war broke out in 2020, but the Amhara forces have since seized it. Following the resurgence of the latest fighting, Tigray forces have reportedly advanced towards some areas in the district. Life-saving assistance is urgently required, the UN said, adding that some families were sheltering in open areas in nearby Amhara districts of Kobo and Sekota.

Meanwhile the embassies of seven Western countries - including the US and the UK - have released a joint statement expressing their concern at the reported violence.

They are calling for de-escalation and have encouraged disarmament and demobilisation. jihadists in West Africa.

But Niger’s relations soured with both Western countries last year following the coup and the military leaders have sought closer security ties with Russia.

Dozens of Russian military instructors have arrived in Niger in recent weeks, bringing with them a state-of-the-art air defence system, according to state media reports.

Niger has also distanced itself from local democracies of

The junta-led nation has turned towards Russia instead and sought stronger regional alliances with fellow junta-led nations Burkina Faso and Mali.

The trio have quit Ecowas - the West African regional body which opposed their military takeovers.

They have also quit the French-backed G5 Sahel force, saying it was ineffectual and undermined African sovereignty, and have launched their own defence pact called the Alliance of Sahel States.