Washington, DC — The military regime in Niger on Saturday revoked "with immediate effect" the military cooperation agreement with the United States dating from 2012. The decision followed several days of tense discussions involving a delegation of senior American officials who visited the capital Niamey last week - a trip apparently triggered by growing concerns that Niger was moving towards a uranium sales deal with Iran.
In a video announcement posted on X and Facebook , a day after the U.S. officials departed, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, spokesperson for the ruling military council, criticized a "condescending attitude" by the delegation leader, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Molly Phee. "The Government of Niger, taking into account the aspirations and interests of its people, denounces with immediate effect the agreement relating to the status of military personnel of the United States and civil employees of the US Department of Defense on the territory of Niger," Abdramane said.
Military leaders ousted the elected president, Mohammed Bazoum, in July and established a ruling council - the Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie (CNSP) to run the country.
"Currently, there are about 1,000 U.S. military personnel, including contractors, in Niger," David Vergun from DOD News reported, based on a March 18 briefing by Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh. "Since the July 26 coup last year in Niger, their mission has been force protection and consolidating from Air Base 101 in Niamey, the capital, to Air Base 201 in the city of Agadez. Their previous counterterrorism mission ceased since the coup, she said."
The U.S. delegation included the head of U.S. Africa Command (Africom), General Michael Langley, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander and the U.S. Ambassador, Kathleen FitzGibbon. The delegation was received on March 14 by Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine - who was appointed last August as prime minister and finance minister by the military junta - but the U.S. officials did not meet with the leader of the military regime, General Abdourahamane Tiani before departing on Friday.
The Americans "failed to follow protocol", Abdramane said. Niger was not informed about the composition or arrival date of the delegation. Following the announcement, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: "We are aware of the statement from the CNSP in Niger, which follows frank discussions at senior levels in Niamey this week about our concerns with the CNSP's trajectory. We are in touch with the CNSP and will provide further updates as warranted."
The State Department announcement prior to the visit said the purpose was to discuss "Niger's return to a democratic path and the future of our security and development partnership." But the alarm bells that apparently moved the trip to the priority list was intelligence suggesting "a preliminary agreement that would allow Tehran to obtain uranium from Niger" was nearing completion, according to a story by a four-person Wall Street Journal reporting team published Sunday. Niger - the seventh largest world producer - has two major mines producing highest-grade uranium ores and providing about five percent of world output.
"The government of Niger rejects the false allegations of the head of the American delegation that it has signed a secret agreement on uranium with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Abdramane said in his statement, adding that Niger has the right to select diplomatic and military partners. He added that Niger has long-standing ties with Iran and has transparent "state-to-state" relations with Russia, another concern reportedly raised by the U.S. officials. Niger, along with Mali and Burkina Faso - two neighbors who are also now led by military juntas - has boosted ties to Russia while severing ties with France, their former colonial ruler.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Niger has been a key American ally in the Sahel region. "The U.S. military operate s out of two bases, including a drone base known as Air Base 201, built near Agadez in central Niger at a cost of more than $100 million," according to Reuters. "Since 2018 the base has been used to target Islamic State militants and Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, an al Qaeda affiliate, in the Sahel region."
The junta's announcement may not mean closure of the bases and the rapid departure of all U.S. troops, as happened with the French military presence, Hannah Rae Armstrong, a peace and security analyst focusing on the Sahel, formerly with the International Crisis Group, told the New York Times. "It's more likely an aggressive negotiation tactic to extract more benefits from cooperating with the Americans."
