Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
Niger is next door to Mali, where France joined the fight against Islamic rebels earlier this month Pentagon spokesman George Little said the role of U.S. troops in Niger "has not yet been defined" - but Niger's ambassador to the United States, Maman Sidikou, told CNN that his government has agreed to let U.S. drones operate from its territory. Sidikou says his understanding of the agreement is the drones will be unarmed and used for surveillance to monitor extremist movements. He refused to discuss where in the country the drones would be based or when they will be operational.
Niger lies to the east of Mali, where French troops and warplanes are fighting alongside government troops to push back Islamist fighters who seized much of the former French colony in 2012. The rebels took advantage of the chaos that followed a revolt by Touareg separatists and a military coup, and banned music, smoking, drinking and watching televised sports in the territories under their control. Washington is backing its NATO ally by sharing intelligence, flying French troops to neighboring countries and refueling French jets.
Mali is the home of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the North African offshoot of the terrorist movement. The group has been connected to the recent assault on the natural gas facility in Algiers and the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Little said the group does not pose a direct threat to the U.S. homeland, but that could change. "I'm unaware of any specific or credible information at this time that points to an AQIM threat against the homeland, but, again, I'm not ruling it out," he said. "We take al Qaeda, wherever they are, very seriously. We are not going to rest on our laurels until we find that that kind of specific and credible information."
The New York Times and Wall Street Journal first reported that the U.S. military planned to establish a drone base in Niger to help keep track on extremists in northern Africa. Asked about the reports at a press conference on Tuesday, Little said he refused to speculate on what the U.S. military will do. A U.S. official said that intelligence-gathering in that part of Africa is a challenge. The United States has a drone base in Djibouti, at the southern tip of the Red Sea - on the opposite side of the continent from Mali. "Djibouti is a long way from Bamako, and there's certainly a growing need for intelligence-gathering," the official said. While not confirming the reports about establishing a drone base, the official noted that if one was created, the operation would need infrastructure, security and support.
Source
In the short run, a drone base would enable the U.S. to give France more intelligence on the militants that French troops are fighting in neighboring Mali. Over time it could extend the reach not only of American intelligence gathering but also U.S. special operations missions to strengthen Niger's own security forces. The U.S. and Niger in recent days signed a "status of forces agreement" spelling out legal protections and obligations of American forces that might operate in Niger in the future.
Pentagon spokesman George Little acknowledged the agreement, but declined Tuesday to discuss U.S. plans for a military presence in Niger. "They expressed a willingness to engage more closely with us, and we are happy to engage with them," Little said, adding that the legal agreement was months in the making and saying it was unrelated to the recent fighting in Mali. The U.S. has found some of its efforts to fight extremists hobbled by some African governments, whose own security forces are ill-equipped to launch an American-style hunt for the militants yet are reluctant to accept U.S. help because of fears the Americans will overstay their welcome and trample their sovereignty.
At France's request, the U.S. has flown 17 Air Force transport flights to move French troops and their equipment to Mali in recent days, Little said. U.S. aircraft also are conducting aerial refueling of French fighter jets based in Mali, he said, and those operations will continue. Other U.S. officials said the Pentagon is planning a new drone base in northwestern Africa - most likely in Niger - but the plans are not yet complete. It would provide more extended U.S. aerial surveillance of militants in the region without risking the loss of air crews. The main U.S. drone base in Africa is in Djibouti in East Africa.
Niger has accepted the idea of hosting unarmed U.S. drones as well as conventional and special operations troops to advise and assist Niger's military on border security, but it has not endorsed armed U.S. Predator strikes or the launching of U.S. special operations raids from their territory, according to a senior U.S. military official briefed on the matter. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly.
MORE
And coup is pronouced "coo".
Military coupe...
[/B]Niger Minister of Defense Kalla Mountari told VOA that the militant groups associated with Islamic State and al-Qaida pose a serious threat to Niger and could infiltrate the country if preemptive measures are not taken against them by regional powers. “Certainly, this is an existential threat to us. Even though they may look weak now, terror groups are still strong in some areas [around us] and their stated intention is to establish a caliphate and bring our countries onto their knees,” Mountari said. He added that the threat of militants could also threaten the security of Europe if they manage to establish safe havens in Niger — given the country’s proximity to Libya and the fact that Libya does not have an effective central government to prevent militants from crossing through the country to enter Europe.
Niger’s senior defense official warned about the threat of militants amid reports that the United States has begun arming its reconnaissance drones in an effort to collect intelligence on militant groups' whereabouts in the region. The drones are being operated from the country’s capital, Niamey. “They [the U.S.] have answered our calls. This is huge because it will serve as a deterrent to those terrorists who wish to attack us,” Mountari said. “Unlike before when they attack and disappear, knowing we don’t have the means of pursuing them, now they would be hunted and taken out from above,” he added, referring to armed U.S drones.
In this photo taken April 13, 2018. Nigerien police who are part of the U.S. Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response, known as SPEAR take part in the annual U.S.-led Flintlock exercise in Niamey, Niger.
The U.S. military has confirmed the deployment of armed drones to Niger in an effort to respond to growing threats in the region. “In coordination with the government of Niger, U.S. Africa Command has armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft already in Niger to improve our combined ability to respond to threats and other security issues in the region,” Samantha Reho, a spokeswoman for the U.S military’s Africa Command ( AFRICOM), told VOA. “Niger is in a strategic location surrounded on three fronts by terrorist organizations based in Libya, Mali and Nigeria,” Reho added.
Last year’s deadly terror attack on a joint U.S.-Nigerien patrol, which was claimed by an Islamic State affiliated group and led to the deaths of four American and several Nigerien soldiers, was a turning point in Niger’s counter-insurgency campaign against militant groups. Senior Nigerien officials say the attack prompted their government to ask the U.S. to speed up the process of arming surveillance drones in the region. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the U.S military in the region said the issue of using armed drones over Niger has been part of ongoing discussion between the U.S. and Niger since well before the October attack on the joint U.S.-Niger patrol.
https://www.voanews.com/a/official-niger-is-facing-an-existential-threat-from-militants-/4490620.html]Lake Chad region
