Niger junta spokesman Col Amadou Abdramane (Photo: AFP)

Niger military spokesman Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane said in a statement on national television that the decision was made  following a visit by US officials this week which was led by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee and included General Michael Langley, commander of the US Africa Command. 

As of 2023 there were about 1,100 US troops in Niger, where the US military operates out of two bases including a drone base, built near Agadez in central Niger at a cost of more than 100 million USD. Since 2018 the base has been used to target Islamic State militants and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaida affiliate, in the Sahel region.