The United States was forced to stop its military operations in March 2024 in Niger – a landlocked, western African country in the Sahara desert. Niger may not immediately seem like a key ally for the U.S., but it served as a crucial staging ground for the U.S. military to carry out work and respond to terrorism in the region.
U.S. representatives are currently trying to negotiate a deal to maintain some sort of military presence in Niger. But, for now, Niger's new ruling junta has declared that the U.S. military presence is a violation of Niger's constitution. The fate of the U.S.‘ presence, including two military drone bases, remains uncertain.
In July 2023, Niger's military successfully conducted a coup d'état and overthrew the democratically elected government. Military leaders arrested President Mohamed Bazoum and announced an end to the constitution and the government. The coup plotters set up their own government, a military junta called the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, to run the country – even as the president still refuses to resign.
Niger is a former French colony and up until recently was home to 1,500 French troops, who mostly all left by December 2023. When the military junta expelled the French troops, it initially allowed the U.S. to continue to operate the base. Yet in March 2024, it ordered the U.S. to leave.
Though approximately 1,000 U.S. troops remain in Niger, the prospects…
