Austin confirms that there are Russians deployed at an air base that houses US soldiers in Niger | military news

Officials say the Russians do not have access to U.S. forces at Air Base 101, as Moscow’s troops are deployed in a separate hangar.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that Russian military personnel entered an air base in Niger that hosts US forces, following a recent decision by Niger’s military rulers to expel US troops from the country.

News of the Russian deployment to the air base comes after Niger’s military rulers told Washington in March that it must withdraw the nearly 1,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in the country.

Before the military coup in July last year, Niger had been a key partner in the United States’ fight against the ISIL (ISIS) group and its Al Qaeda affiliates in Africa’s Sahel region, which is currently experiencing a surge in deadly violence.

The Reuters news agency on Thursday cited a senior US defense official, who, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that Russian troops were present but not mixed with US forces at Air Base 101, located next to Diori International Airport. Hamani in Niamey, the capital of Niger.

Russia’s deployment of military personnel to the base puts US and Moscow forces in close proximity at a time when relations between the two countries are increasingly tense amid Washington’s support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of His neighbor.

“(The situation) is not very good but, in the short term, it is manageable,” the US official said.

When asked by a reporter about the air base report, Defense Secretary Austin said Friday that he did not see any significant problems since Russian troops did not have access to American personnel and equipment.

“Airbase 101, where our forces are based, is a Nigerien air force base co-located with an international airport in the capital city. “The Russians are in a separate compound and do not have access to US forces or our equipment,” Austin said at a news conference in Honolulu.

“I am always focused on the safety and security of our troops, (and it is) something we will continue to watch,” he said.

“But right now I don’t see a major problem in terms of protecting our force,” he added.

Western forces no longer welcome

The United States and its allies have been forced to withdraw troops from several African countries after coups that brought to power military leaders eager to distance themselves from Western governments.

In addition to the imminent departure from Niger, US forces have also left Chad in recent days, while the French army was expelled from Mali and Burkina Faso. At the same time, Russia seeks to strengthen relations with African nations, presenting Moscow as a friendly country without colonial baggage on the continent.

Mali, for example, has become one of Russia’s closest African allies in recent years, with the Wagner Group mercenary force deployed there to fight rebel groups.

After last year’s coup, the US military moved some of its forces in Niger from Air Base 101 to Air Base 201 in the city of Agadez. It was not immediately clear what U.S. military equipment remained at Air Base 101.

Washington built Air Base 201 in central Niger at a cost of more than $100 million. Since 2018, it has been used to attack ISIL and Al Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, with armed drones.

Niger’s call for the withdrawal of US troops came after a meeting in Niamey in mid-March, when senior US officials raised concerns, including the expected arrival of Russian forces and reports that Iran was seeking raw materials in the country, including uranium.

While the U.S. message to Nigerien officials was not an ultimatum, the U.S. official told Reuters it had become clear that U.S. forces could not be on a base with Russian forces.

“They didn’t take it that well,” the official said.

A two-star American general has been sent to Niger to try to organize a professional and responsible withdrawal.

While no decisions have been made about the future of US troops in Niger, the official said the plan was for them to return to the US Africa Command bases, located in Germany.