U.S. troop presence in Niger could drop by half as Pentagon repositions forces

The U.S. military is preparing to cut its presence in Niger nearly in half in the next few weeks, as troops move out of the capital of Niamey amid widespread protests, according to two Defense Department officials with direct knowledge of the move.

DOD recently began repositioning a number of forces away from the airport at Niamey to a second, smaller base at Agadez, some 500 miles away, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters on Thursday. As a result, the overall number of troops in Niger could drop from 1,200 before the July 26 coup to somewhere “right in the middle” of 500 to 1,000 in the next few weeks, said one of the DOD officials, who like others interviewed for this story was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive plans.

This would be the first significant movement of U.S. troops out of Niger since a military junta seized power in late July. The Biden administration has yet to officially call the incident a “coup,” a label that would require ending military and other aid to the country. However, the Pentagon has suspended training operations with Nigerien forces. Meanwhile, flights out of Agadez, a U.S.-funded drone base key to hunting militants in the region, have been sporadic.

Any major reduction in U.S. military presence in Niger would be a blow to the counterterrorism fight in the Sahel. The French military, which also has a major presence in Niger, is reportedly in talks with the military junta to withdraw its forces.

The DOD officials cautioned that no final decision has been made on the exact number of U.S. troops that remain in Niger after the repositioning. That figure depends on how many can be accommodated at Agadez and how many Pentagon leaders decide are needed to continue the counterterrorism mission, said the officials.

“It’s about matching the right people to the right mission,” said the second DOD official. “The number is not as important to us as the function they are performing.”

The situation in Niger is relatively stable and there is no specific threat to U.S. troops, Singh said. The U.S. military will still maintain a “small” presence at the airport in Niamey, while most of the troops will move to Agadez, she said.

The decision to move from Niamey was taken out of an abundance of caution, particularly after protests erupted this week outside a French military base in the city, said the first DOD official.

“We are trying to reduce the footprint in Niamey but still maintain our ability to conduct counterterrorism operations,” the first official said.