Russian military personnel have moved into a military base in Niger where U.S. troops are currently stationed, U.S. defense officials said Thursday, sparking fears of escalation as tensions mount between Moscow and Washington amid the war in Ukraine.
“[The situation] is not great but in the short-term manageable,” a senior U.S. defense official told Reuters.
The arrival of Russian troops at Air Base 101 in Niamey, Niger’s capital, follows a demand by Niger’s ruling military junta—which took power in a coup last July—that the U.S. withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country.
This is a breaking news story and it will be updated.
A U.S. soldier carries his belongings to a waiting truck at a military camp September 21, 2004 on the outskirts of the capital city Niamey, Niger. The US has been ordered to withdraw its troops from Niger’s military base by the African country’s pro-Moscow ruling military junta.
Jacob Silberberg/Getty Images
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.