The United States is preparing to withdraw more than 1,000 military personnel from Niger, once a front-line partner in its war against the ISIL (ISIS) group and al-Qaeda affiliates in the Sahel region of Africa, which is currently experiencing a surge in deadly violence.
Niger announced in March that it was breaking off its defence agreement with the US “with immediate effect”. The US Department of State confirmed that officials were meeting their Nigerien counterparts on Thursday to discuss “an orderly and responsible withdrawal of US forces”.
