Photo : AFP
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : AFP
IN BRIEF
By Ayan Datta
Nigeria: AES confederation will disrupt integration and worsen instability, comments ECOWAS
On 7 July, according to Reuters, ECOWAS stated that Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso’s decision to leave ECOWAS and form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) confederation would “disrupt the freedom of movement and settlement of people” and worsen regional instability. The ECOWAS states’ leaders were gathered at a summit in Abuja to discuss the implications of the three countries' exit. (“West African bloc says it risks disintegration if junta-led states leave,” Reuters, 7 July 2024)
Niger: US troops leave Air Base 101
On 7 July, according to Reuters, the US military withdrew its troops from Air Base 101 in Niger’s capital Niamey. US Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman said that next, the US would withdraw from Air Base 201, which was a drone base near central Niger’s Agadez region, by 15 September. The exit followed the Niger government’s April 2024 order to withdraw the 1,000 US soldiers stationed in the country. The same month, Niger’s government invited military instructors and troops from Russia. (“US troops pull out of Niger's Air Base 101,” Reuters, 7 July 2024)