In Agadez, a few hundred individuals gathered to request the departure of the US military from Niger.
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“We, the people of Agadez and all of Niger, are convinced that the presence of any foreign military base on our territory cannot be beneficial for our security and represents a form of neo-colonialism,” one of the speakers said from the podium at the rally.
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Pictures show flags of Niger, Mali, and Russia. Some people carried signs, including one urging the US to remove its military presence because it's not important in the African country. Another sign reads: “This is Agadez, not Washington. US Army, leave.”they don’t matter” in the African country. The sign on another reads: “This is Agadez, not Washington. US Army, leave.”
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In mid-March, the ruling military in Niger announced the end of the agreement with the United States, which allowed its soldiers to be in the country. According to Senior Colonel Amadou Abdraman, a member of the ruling National Council for the Defense of the Fatherland, this document was forced, and the deployment of the American base violated constitutional and democratic norms.
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The day before, the New York Times reported that the US would withdraw a thousand troops from Niger soon. Reuters, citing a source, stated that on Friday, April 19, Deputy Head of the State Department Kurt Campbell and the Prime Minister of Niger, Ali Lamine Zein, reached an agreement.
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Last summer, the Nigerian military announced on national television that President Mohamed Bazoum had been ousted. The new leadership, led by General Abdurakhman Tchiani, denounced agreements with France and demanded the withdrawal of its troops.
