The departure of US troops from Niger, as required by the West African country’s military administration, will be completed in early August, a US general said Wednesday.
“The withdrawal is going well,” General Kenneth Ekman, US commander for Africa, told reporters in Abidjan.
“It is ahead of schedule and this is because of the excellent coordination that we have had with our Nigerien military counterparts,” said Ekman, who heads up the US Africa Command Africom.
“I expect that we will be complete with the withdrawal by early August, well ahead of the 15 September mutually agreed deadline.”
The US withdrew from a facility in Niamey, Niger’s capital, in early July, but another 200 US personnel remain at the Agadez drone station in the north.
US troops were part of an international effort to combat terrorist forces who frequently target the region.
However, Niger’s military commanders, who took control in a coup a year ago in March, ordered US and French personnel to leave the nation.
“The consequences for regional security are very concerning,” Ekman said.
“I’ve been here speaking to your military and government leaders — we share the same concerns about the violent extremist threat that is growing and increasingly threatening the countries around the Sahel.”
He stated that the United States would continue to engage with Ivory Coast security forces, but refuted media rumors that the US military planned to create a base in Odienne, in the country’s north.
US forces recently participated in the “Flintlock” military exercise in Ivory Coast, which included hundreds of soldiers from Western and African countries.