The U.S. and Niger issued a joint statement on Sunday that set a deadline of September 15 for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces. The departing American troops leave behind a $100-million military base built to support counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel region.
The disposition of Airbase 201 in Niger’s city of Agadez was left unclear in the joint statement, which held out hopes that the U.S. and Niger might be able to work on “issues of mutual interest” in the future.
In a conference call with reporters on Sunday afternoon, a senior Defense Department official said the departing American forces would bring “sensitive equipment, lethal equipment, [and] hazardous equipment” with them.
“A lot of what we expect will be left behind is either things that are immobile or are going to cost a lot more for the United States to take out than they’re actually worth,” the official said.
However, he added that “ensuring that this withdrawal goes in as collegial and collaborative a manner as possible” was a top priority, and, since the U.S. military hopes it might still be able to operate out of Niger in some capacity in the future, it might end up leaving a good deal of equipment behind:
It’s really too early to tell exactly what we will be taking out. Obviously, the goal is to take as much as we can [and] protect the investment of the U.S. taxpayers, but there’s significant infrastructure, including the air base at Agadez [and] the air base — or our part of it — at Niamey that we’re not obviously going to be able to take with us.
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Author: Dillon B
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