An Update on the Situation in Niger and the Replacement of American Troops with Russian Ones

As Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were killed in an helicopter crash near the Iranian-Azerbaijani border, and it is undetermined whether the United States or Israel was behind an assassination and sabotage operation, the United States military is currently being kicked out of the African nation of Niger. Last year, I covered the coup and takeover by a junta and how Russian troops began the process of replacing Americans in that country, but now, we are seeing it unfold in real time. Cold War II; which includes the more well-known fronts of Ukraine, Taiwan, Korea, the South China Sea, and Syria, as well as the lesser-known fronts in Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Armenia-Azerbaijan; is really ramping up across the globe.

The United States has been involved in Niger since 1962 (shortly after its independence from France), but operations and troops increased significantly in 2002 (after the 9-11 attacks) and then even more after the 2011 jihadi takeover of neighboring Mali. These operations largely involved conducting joint exercises, performing surveillance of the Sahel region, and training the Nigerian government to confront al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS is an affiliate of ISIS, and the group was responsible for killing four Americans in the village of Tongo Tongo near the Malian border in 2017), and Boko Haram. Since that time, American taxpayers have spent at least $1 billion to house their up to 1,100 troops (currently down to 650 after the July 2023 coup), establish an airbase at Niamey (the capital city), and build an embassy and two drone bases (the large drone base at Agadez cost $100 million alone to build). That money helped establish the American Empire’s influence in the country, and now, it is gone and wasted (I wonder what else we could have done with that money).

Roughly two months after the coup that saw Abdourahmane Tchiani’s military junta assume power by eliminating President Mohamed Bazoum’s rule, France’s 1,500 troops began the process of vacating the country at the direction of the new government (they got the boot). Even though Bazoum begged the United States and France to save “democracy” by restoring the former government, here we are ten months later, and the United States is now being forced out too (after a period of halting some military and other aid and training to Niger due to the coup). The Biden administration has no choice but to oblige and remove all of its troops (and equipment) out of Niger by September, and this was brought about largely because the United States government threatened the military junta and opposed it having relations with Russia and Iran and selling uranium to Tehran (at the very least, the United States planned to place sanctions on Niger if it went ahead with the uranium deal).

As soon as the coup occurred, the newly-formed Nigerian government asked the Russian-supported Wagner group for assistance in maintaining power and security (raising eyebrows about whether Russia was involved covertly in the coup). The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) contemplated invading Niger at one point to force Bazoum back into power, but it has only implemented economic sanctions thus far (Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, and Niger have been standing strong against Western pressures and ECOWAS).

Fast forward to today, Russian troops are actively engaged in Niger and have even entered the same military base in Niamey that American troops are stationed at, though there have been no known clashes between the superpowers (the two compounds are separated). Look at that, Russian forces are moving into Nigerian bases, while American troops are leaving. This comes at a time when both Russia and China are expanding their influence and cooperation with many African nations and investing money and resources to do so. Although Niger is now saying that it no longer welcomes “imperialist and neo-colonialist forces” within its borders, you cannot help but think that it is really just trading one empire for another, as China, Russia, and Iran will likely exploit Africa’s resources in a similar manner to the West. Regardless, the American Empire is losing its grip in Africa, and similarly, Mali and Burkina Faso had military coup’s that forced the French and Americans out (even Chad has kicked out most American troops). The African people, and particularly those in Niger, are sick and tired of being manipulated by their former colonizers and the United States and are now looking to be liberated by Russia (though Russia will probably not turn out to be much better).

As Russian flags replace American ones across countries in Africa and the American Empire is forced to reanalyze the situation on the continent, this is causing more tensions in the cold war between the United States and Russia. From Sudan to Burkina Faso and Mali to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire and not to be confused with the regular Republic of the Congo to the west), where recently-slain opposition leader, Christian Malanga, was exiled to the United States at one point (back in 2017) and three Americans were caught assisting in this month’s coup plot against the government of President Felix Tshisekedi; Africa has become one of the major global points of contention and showdowns for superpowers. Will this trend continue? Will the United States deploy more troops to the continent in order to secure as many countries as possible and counter the influence of Russia and China? Stay tuned.

Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.