Niger’s authorities introduced on Saturday that it was breaking off “with immediate effect” its army cooperation settlement with the US. The declaration got here only a day after a senior US delegation left Niger, following a three-day go to to resume contact with the army junta that ousted the president and moved nearer to Russia.The assertion stated the federal government had determined to “denounce with immediate effect” the settlement regarding US army and civilian staff of the US Division of Protection inside Niger. It was learn out Saturday night on nationwide tv. US State Division spokesman Matthew Miller stated Washington was conscious of the assertion, and that it got here after “frank discussions … about our concerns” with the junta’s “trajectory.”Miller stated on X that the US was nonetheless in contact with the junta and would supply updates “as warranted.”The Pentagon supplied AFP with an an identical assertion.The US nonetheless stations some 1,000 troops in Niger at a desert drone base constructed at a price of $100 million.Actions there have been restricted for the reason that July 2023 coup and Washington has curbed help to the federal government.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a uncommon go to to Niger a yr in the past in hopes of shoring up president Mohamed Bazoum, a stalwart ally in Western safety efforts in opposition to jihadists.Simply 4 months later, the army deposed Bazoum and put him underneath home arrest. The junta took a tough line in opposition to former colonial energy France, forcing the withdrawal of French troops in place for almost a decade.Niger’s army had prior to now labored intently with the US.However the junta has sought cooperation with Russia, whereas stopping in need of the full-fledged embrace of Moscow by military-run neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso.
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