Washington agrees to Niger’s request to withdraw its forces from the country.. Will it be repeated in Iraq?
Washington agrees to Niger’s request to withdraw its forces from the country.. Will it be repeated in Iraq?
2024-04-20
The United States of America has agreed to the Niger government’s request to withdraw American forces from the West African country, in an approach that is not known whether it might give hope to Iraq, which also hopes to end the tasks of the international coalition.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has previously resisted this desire for a long time, and it would change Washington’s position in combating terrorism in the region, according to the Washington Post.
The agreement ends the presence of US forces, which totaled more than 1,000 soldiers, and casts doubt on the status of the US air base, which costs $110 million and is only six years old.
“The prime minister has asked us to withdraw American forces, and we have agreed to do that,” a senior State Department official told The Washington Post in an interview. This official, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation.
Agence France-Presse reported that US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell agreed to the Niamey authorities’ request to withdraw forces, during a meeting in Washington with Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zein, who took power after the coup last July, according to what US officials told the agency.
The United States temporarily suspended its security cooperation with Niger, limiting American activities, including unarmed drone flights.
burathanews.com
