FALCON POWERS – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated on Friday that there is no significant problem for US forces in Niger, following reports by Reuters that Russian military personnel entered an airbase in the capital, Niamey, which hosts US forces.
Austin said in a press conference in Honolulu, “The Russians are in a separate compound and cannot access our troops or equipment.” He added, “I always focus on the safety and protection of our forces.”
He continued, “But currently, I don’t see a significant problem here regarding the protection of our forces.”
A senior official from the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) told Reuters that members of the Russian army entered an airbase in Niger hosting US forces, in a move that comes after the Nigerien military council’s decision to expel US forces from the country.
The army officers ruling the West African state requested the United States to withdraw nearly a thousand troops from the country, which until the coup last year was a key partner in Washington’s war against insurgents who killed thousands of people and displaced millions.
A senior US defense official, requesting anonymity, said that Russian forces do not mix with US forces, but instead occupy a separate location at the adjacent Air Base 101 near Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger.
This move by the Russian army places American and Russian soldiers in very close proximity at a time when military and diplomatic competition between the two countries is intensifying due to the conflict in Ukraine. The move also raises questions about the fate of US facilities in the country after the withdrawal.
