{"id":25799,"date":"2024-04-13T15:30:37","date_gmt":"2024-04-13T15:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/13\/protesters-in-niger-call-for-u-s-military-exit-as-russian-force-arrives\/"},"modified":"2024-04-13T15:30:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T15:30:37","slug":"protesters-in-niger-call-for-u-s-military-exit-as-russian-force-arrives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/13\/protesters-in-niger-call-for-u-s-military-exit-as-russian-force-arrives\/","title":{"rendered":"Protesters in Niger Call for U.S. Military Exit as Russian Force Arrives"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/13\/multimedia\/13niger-1-vpjh\/13niger-1-vpjh-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Protesters in Niger Call for U.S. Military Exit as Russian Force Arrives\" title=\"Protesters in Niger Call for U.S. Military Exit as Russian Force Arrives\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Thousands of protesters gathered in the capital of Niger on Saturday called for the withdrawal of U.S. armed forces personnel stationed in the West African nation, only days after Russia delivered its own set of military equipment and instructors to the country\u2019s military.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The demonstration in the capital, Niamey, fit a well-known pattern in some countries in the region, run by military juntas, that have severed ties with Western nations in recent years and turned to Russia instead to fight extremist insurgencies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cU.S. Army, you leave, you move, you vanish,\u201d read one sign brandished by a protester. \u201cNo bonus, no negotiation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">About 1,000 American military personnel are stationed at a remote <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/17\/world\/africa\/niger-orders-american-troops-out.html\" title=\"\">drone base<\/a> in Niger\u2019s desert, from which they fly drones tracking movements of extremist groups in Niger and throughout the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the United States suspended its military cooperation with Niger\u2019s military last summer, when mutinous soldiers <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/26\/world\/africa\/niger-military-coup-president-bazoum.html\" title=\"\">seized power in the country<\/a>. That rupture has kept the drones grounded and the troops inactive. Last month, Niger <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/17\/world\/africa\/niger-orders-american-troops-out.html\" title=\"\">ordered the U.S. troops to leave<\/a>, declaring their presence illegal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A U.S. State Department spokesman said that America remained in discussions with Niger\u2019s authorities about its military presence and cooperation in the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the sudden arrival of 100 Russian instructors and an air-defense system in Niger this past week will make the prospect of cooperation in the short-term even more uncertain. According to Russia\u2019s state-owned news outlet <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/ria.ru\/20240412\/niger-1939481345.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Ria Novosti<\/a>, the Russian personnel are part of Africa Corps, the new paramilitary structure intended to take the place of the Wagner group, the military company whose mercenaries and operations spread in Africa under the leadership of its former leader, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/25\/world\/europe\/yevgeny-prigozhin-dead.html\" title=\"\">Yevgeny V. Prigozhin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe are here to train Niger\u2019s Army to use the military equipment that is here,\u201d a Russian trainer said in a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/fb.watch\/rqeGmhg-Rd\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">broadcast<\/a> on Niger\u2019s national television this past week, standing in front of a Russian military plane. \u201cWe are here to develop military cooperation between Russia and Niger.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected president of Niger who was detained by his own presidential guard last July, has been held captive in his private residence in Niamey since then, with no access to the outside world nor with his lawyers. He has refused to resign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The demonstrators in Niamey on Saturday waved <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/10\/01\/world\/africa\/russian-flags-west-africa-niger.html\" title=\"\">Russian flags<\/a> as well as those of Burkina Faso and Mali, two neighboring countries where military-led governments have also called in Russian assistance to help fight insurgents affiliated with the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">All roads leading to the U.S. Embassy, a few miles from the square, were blocked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Unlike previous protests \u2014 against France, a former key partner of Niger that withdrew its troops last year amid a fallout with the junta \u2014 the demonstration on Saturday remained mostly calm. But the message was clear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe can\u2019t understand that the American base on our territory isn\u2019t stopping terrorists from killing our soldiers,\u201d said Mariama Saley, 40, who described herself as a civil society activist. \u201cThe Americans are going to leave Niger like the French have before them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe need partners that will finish off terrorism,\u201d said another demonstrator, Amadou Soumana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The spokesman for Niger\u2019s government and a close aide to the country\u2019s current ruler, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/28\/world\/africa\/niger-coup-general-omar-tchiani.html\" title=\"\">Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani<\/a>, attended the demonstration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Niger\u2019s alliance with Russia goes back years: Niger bought military helicopters from Russia in 2016, and the two countries signed an agreement on military cooperation and training two years later. But at the same time, governments in the Sahel region, the arid strip of land south of the Sahara that includes Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, had begun to rely on the United States and European countries to train their troops and collect intelligence on armed groups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That era is over, Western diplomats and analysts say. A delegation from Washington and the top U.S. commander for Africa, Gen. Michael E. Langley, that visited Niger last month left without being able to meet with General Tchiani, the country\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Niger later criticized the delegation\u2019s \u201ccondescending attitude\u201d and blamed U.S. officials for threatening reprisals if Niger was to partner with American rivals like Russia and Iran.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe United States asked Niger to pick a side,\u201d a Western diplomat based in a country of the Sahel said on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing diplomatic tensions. \u201cWell, now they have.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/13\/world\/africa\/niger-us-military-russia.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands of protesters gathered in the capital of Niger on Saturday called for the withdrawal of U.S. armed forces personnel stationed in the West African nation, only days after Russia delivered its own set of military equipment and instructors to the country\u2019s military. The demonstration in the capital, Niamey, fit a well-known pattern in some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/13\/multimedia\/13niger-1-vpjh\/13niger-1-vpjh-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3160,875,6556,5401,2198,30848,2403,1461,221],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25801,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25799\/revisions\/25801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}