US agrees to withdraw troops from Niger

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell met with the prime minister of Niger's military junta and agreed to remove approximately 1,000 US troops from the country. This decision comes after Niger's order for the US to withdraw its forces and drones. The US had a long-standing strategy in Niger, alongside France, to combat jihadists in West Africa. The US had built a base in Agadez for surveillance flights at a cost of $100m. The articles suggest that this withdrawal marks a new regional gain for Russia, which has increased its focus on Africa and supported military regimes in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.