US military operations across the Sahel are at risk after Niger ends cooperation

U.S. scrambles to assess future of counterterrorism in Sahel after Niger ends military cooperation with Washington.

The United States scrambled on March 17 to assess the future of its counterterrorism operations in the Sahel after Niger's junta said it was ending its years-long military cooperation with Washington following a visit by top U.S. officials.

The U.S. military has hundreds of troops stationed at a major airbase in northern Niger that deploys flights over the vast Sahel region — south of the Sahara Desert — where jihadi groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate.

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Top U.S. envoy Molly Phee returned to the capital, Niamey, this week to meet with senior government officials, accompanied by Marine Gen. Michael Langley, head of the U.S. military’s African Command. She had visited in December while acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland travelled to the country in August.

The U.S. State Department said on March 17 in a post on X that talks were frank and that it was in touch with the junta. It wasn’t clear whether the U.S. has any leeway left to negotiate a deal to stay in the country.

Niger had been seen as one of the last nations in the restive region that Western nations could partner with to beat back growing jihadi insurgencies.

The U.S. and France had more than 2,500 military personnel in the region until recently, and together with other European countries had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance and training.