US readying plans to evacuate drone bases if necessary under Niger's new junta, commander says
Source: Associated Press
US readying plans to evacuate drone bases if necessary under Niger’s new junta, commander says
BY ELLEN KNICKMEYER
Updated 5:01 PM EDT, August 18, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is making precautionary plans to evacuate two key drone and counter-terror bases in Niger if that becomes necessary under the West African nation’s new ruling junta, the Air Force commander for Africa said Friday.
That planning includes looking for U.S.-allied nations in the Saharan and Sahel regions, some of the world’s most active areas for al-Qaida- and Islamic State-allied extremist groups, “that we could maybe partner up with, and then move our assets there,” Air Force Gen. James Hecker told reporters in Washington.
Hecker stressed that there had been no decision from the Biden administration regarding whether the Niger military’s July 26 overthrow of the country’s democratically elected president would compel U.S. diplomats or security forces to leave the country.
U.S. bases there have been vital counter-terror posts in an unstable region that is seeing an increasing number of coups as well as encroachment by Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. The U.S. presence includes air bases in Niamey, the capital, and in the remote city of Agadez on the southern edge of the Sahara.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/niger-united-states-drone-bases-counterterror-evacuation-e1e5fc52b3bf986581c8119a144a21a8