U.S. withdrawal. The U.S. confirmed that it will pull its troops out of Niger and close its air base in Agadez after the country’s military junta announced last month that it was revoking a military agreement with Washington. The U.S., which had roughly 1,000 troops stationed in Niger as of last year, has used the country as its primary base for monitoring and counterinsurgency operations across the Sahel. It has been reported in recent weeks that dozens of Russian military instructors and personnel have arrived in Niamey as the Nigerien government turns to Moscow for security assistance.
