Niger’s president, General Abdurahman Tchiani, refused to receive the US delegation and announced the termination of the agreement on the US military presence in the African country, CNN reported on March 16.
Niger’s head, General Abdurrahman Tchiani, refused to accept the US delegation led by Undersecretary of State for African Affairs Molly Fee and the head of the Pentagon’s Africa Command, Michael Langley.
The negotiations were led by the country’s Prime Minister, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zein, at the end of which the country’s authorities announced the termination of the military cooperation agreement.
“The Government of Niger, taking into account the aspirations and interests of its people, decides, within its full responsibility, to immediately denounce the agreement regarding the status of US military personnel and civilian employees of the United States Department of Defense in the territory of the Republic of Niger.”said Amadou Abdramane, spokesman for the country’s military government, in a televised speech.
Abdramane added that the agreement between the two countries, signed in 2012, was imposed on Niger and violated “constitutional and democratic norms” sovereignty of the West African State.
“This agreement is not only deeply unfair in its content, but also does not respond to the aspirations and interests of the Nigerian people.”he emphasized.
At the same time, according to a representative of the Nigerien authorities, the delegation was received only out of “courtesy”, since the American representatives did not respect diplomatic practice by not providing information about the date of the visit, the composition of the delegation and the content of the agenda.
Let us remember that after the July 2023 coup, the Niger authorities took a course towards a sovereign policy and broke the military agreement with France and the European Union.
It should be noted that in the north of Niger, near the city of Adagez, there is a US military base where about 1,100 soldiers were previously located. Some of them were expelled from the country. In a letter sent to Congress in December 2023, President Joe Biden noted that approximately 648 military personnel remain stationed in Niger.
.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.