Russia boosts its Africa influence by deploying near U.S. soldiers at Airbase 101 in Niger

Open this photo in gallery:

Russian troops have moved into a West African airfield where U.S. soldiers are located, raising concerns that Moscow could exploit an expected U.S. pullout by winning control of strategic military bases within striking distance of southern Europe.

The Pentagon has confirmed that Russian forces have been deployed into Airbase 101, located at the international airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger, a former U.S. ally in West Africa until a military coup in the country last July.

An estimated 60 to 100 Russian troops arrived in Niger last month after the new junta ordered Washington to withdraw its troops. The timing of the U.S. withdrawal is unclear, and several hundred U.S. troops remain in the country, with negotiations underway between the United States and the Niger regime.

The Russian troops are reportedly in a hangar at the airfield, separate from the U.S. troops, and the two sides are not mingling. But the deployment has symbolic significance, showing that Moscow can boost its military presence in former U.S.-allied states in Africa even when there are U.S. troops on the ground nearby. It could also allow Russia to move further north in Niger, to a major U.S. airfield within range of Europe.

Niger coup casts doubt on Canada’s African strategy of spending millions on military training, development

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters that the Russian troops do not pose any risk to the Pentagon’s forces at the Niamey airport. The Russians do not have any access to U.S. troops or equipment, he said.

“I’m always focused on the safety and protection of our troops,” Mr. Austin said at a news conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, last week. “But right now, I don’t see a significant issue here in terms of our force protection.”

The bigger question, however, is the fate of a major U.S. drone base in northern Niger, at the town of Agadez. The site, known as Airbase 201, has been a key base for U.S. surveillance drones in its counterterrorism efforts in West Africa, and it would be a lucrative asset for Russia to obtain.

The Pentagon, which spent more than US$100-million in 2016 to build the drone base, has deployed as many as 1,100 troops at the site in the past. It curtailed the base’s surveillance activities after the military coup last year.

Niger’s military junta said in March that the United States must end its military presence in the country, which it described as “illegal.” It complained that Washington had been pressing the regime to halt a potential security deal with Russia.

Opinion: Africa says adieu to French power

Moscow, using military contractors as its proxies, has deployed thousands of troops into African countries near Niger in recent years, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Libya and the Central African Republic, following security agreements with those countries. Its arrival in Niger – under the banner of Russia’s Africa Corps, a paramilitary contractor – has solidified its influence in a wide swath of West Africa and neighbouring regions.

Analysts say Russia is unlikely to deploy significant numbers of reinforcements or drones to Niger in the near future, especially since Africa Corps has had recruitment problems. But in the longer term, its presence in Niger could be strategically valuable, especially in any potential conflict between Russia and NATO forces in Europe.

The presence of Russian forces in northern Niger “would create an opportunity for the Kremlin to deploy drones in the area to threaten NATO’s southern flank in the future,” said a report last month by the Critical Threats Project, an analysis unit at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank in Washington.

In the Ukraine war, it noted, Russia has been wielding a growing number of Iranian-made Shahed drones, some of which would have enough range to reach southern Italy if they were deployed at Agadez.

In addition, a Russian military presence in northern Niger could allow Moscow to influence the country’s uranium exports, a key source of supply for France’s energy system, the report said. France has relied on Niger for nearly 20 per cent of the uranium it has imported over the past decade.

Northern Niger is also a key migration route from Africa to Europe, which could give Moscow influence over migration flows to Europe, the report said, noting that Russia has repeatedly triggered migration crises in the past in an attempt to destabilize European countries.