The United States military stationed in Niger will leave completely "in early August", announced the leader of the North American military command for Africa (AFRICOM), fulfilling the demand of the military junta, which governs the country.
"The withdrawal is going well, we are ahead of schedule, thanks to the excellent coordination we have with our Nigerien counterparts; I hope it will be completed in early August," said Kenneth Ekman, who is coordinating the withdrawal, at a conference press in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, cited by the France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
At the beginning of July, all US soldiers from the Niamey base had left the country, leaving around 200 elements at the Agadez drone base, in the north of the country.
The United States was in Niger to combat extremists who regularly attack the country, but the military regime in power in Niamey since last year reviewed international partnerships and called for the US to leave in March.
"The consequences for regional security are very worrying, the violent extremist threat in the Sahel is growing and increasingly threatening neighboring countries, and Côte d'Ivoire is one of them", said General Ekman at the press conference in Abidjan .
Asked about a possible deployment to Côte d'Ivoire, he said that the United States intends to "work with Côte d'Ivoire forces in their bases, where they are already operating, to solidify the partnerships that exist", referring in particular to the north of the country, on the border with Burkina Faso and Mali, where the threat from Islamic extremism is greatest.
However, he denied reports that circulated in the press in recent weeks, according to which the United States would build a base in Odienné, in the northwest of Côte d'Ivoire.
"Why build if something already exists? We don't have any project to build a base in Odienné", he assured, adding that he was sensitive to the concerns that the construction of a North American base could generate in public opinion.
In recent years, the United States has held military exercises in Côte d'Ivoire under the name "Flintlock", bringing together hundreds of soldiers from various Western and African armies to reinforce operational capabilities in the fight against extremism.
