There is the Sahara Desert on one side of the tiny African nation and the dense jungle of Congo on the other. The US set up military bases in that country. It, however, seems that the people of Niger can no longer tolerate the US soldiers stationed there. In fact, they recently welcomed the Russian troops upon their arrival in their country!

There is a US airbase in Niamey, the capital of Niger. The Russian troops have taken control of that base reportedly after expelling the US forces. According to Washington DC, the US forces were keeping an eye on the activities of a terrorist organisation, named ISIS, from the airbase in Niamey. The Joe Biden Administration has informed the UN that the US forces collected a lot of information about ISIS with the help of drones operated from that airbase. The US still has more than 750 military bases in 80 countries around the world! It has set up more than 120 bases in Japan alone and stationed nearly 53,000 soldiers at those bases. The US military bases are also there in Germany, South Korea, Britain, Portugal, Belgium, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Italy, Norway and Cuba. Each of these countries has at least 500 US soldiers in those bases. In total, the US has stationed nearly 0.175 million soldiers in 80 countries!

The economic condition of the residents of Niamey is not so good. Washington DC has claimed that ISIS trains the residents of Niamey and also gives them money for launching terror attacks in different cities mostly in Europe. According to the Biden Administration, the US set up the airbase in Niger in order to counter ISIS.

Apart from the US, France has made an attempt to influence the African nation politically. There were a number of small kingdoms in Niger in the 1890s. France began to dominate Niger in 1899, and the landlocked country in West Africa became a French colony in 1905. France completed the process of colonisation in 1922. When Niger wanted to become an Independent nation after the end of the Second World War, France assured that Niger would be represented in the French Cabinet. As expected, this arrangement helped only a wealthy few in Niger to flourish.

Later, the people of Niger raised their voices against France and ended the colonial rule in 1960. Although the same Government ruled the country for the next 14 years, it failed to ensure economic development, as well as prosperity. In 1968, drought, food shortage and poverty claimed thousands of lives in Niger. The failure of the Civilian Government allowed the Military Rulers to take political control of the country in 1974. Although some political parties formed a Government in Niger in 1991, it failed to properly deal with the economic crisis. As a result, Military Rule returned to the country in 1996. A Civilian Government was formed in Niger again in 1999, with Mamadou Tandja (1938 – November 24, 2020) becoming the President. During his tenure as the Head of the State (from 1999 to 2010), the situation remained somewhat stable. Thereafter, the situation gradually started to deteriorate. The scenario changed abruptly in 2023 when the Army removed President Mohamed Bazoum from the office. The Military Government of President Abdourahamane Tchiani shut down all the educational institutions immediately after coming to power! It may be noted that France still influences the Armed Forces of Niger. It prompted the people of Niger to raise their voices against France yet again. Protesters were of the opinion that the former Colonial Masters were controlling Niger through the Army (of the African nation). After considering the situation, French President Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron announced the withdrawal of troops from Niger in September 2023, and the French forces left the country in December.

Interestingly, Niger produced 2,020 tonnes of uranium in 2022! Currently, the country has two significant uranium mines providing about 5% of world mining output from Africa’s highest-grade uranium ores. Furthermore, 15% of France’s total uranium is imported from Niger, which is also famous for gold and oil production. Earlier, the US claimed that it would send troops to the African country after the withdrawal of the French troops in order to restore peace in Niger. However, the Army of Niger called in armed groups, like Wagner (a Russian state-funded Private Military Company (PMC)).

Reports suggest that the Army of Niger has joined hands with the Russian Army. Even the people of Niger have taken to the streets with placards, demanding departure of the US troops. Although Russia has made no comments on this issue, the US has claimed that the Russian troops are yet to take full control of the (US) airbase in Niamey. Experts are of the opinion that Russia has sent forces to Niamey mainly to take possession of Niger’s vast reserves of uranium.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das