The United States keep boosting their military presence in West Africa in an attempt to stop terrorism and to ensure stability and better security in the region.
A major TV station in Niger Republic, with the reference to security sources, reported on Friday, November 6, that more than 30 American troops arrived to the country. Their main goal is training local personnel who are engaged in fighting the militants of various Islamist groups, including Boko Haram.
Nigerian Tribune reports that Eunice Reddick, the American ambassador in Niger, visited the troops at a military base in the city of Agadez, a strategic point in the deserted north of the country.
A Niger military source said on local TV that the training started in the middle of last month in Agadez. Over 30 instructors from the USA are training over 100 local soldiers. This shows that the military and technical cooperation between the two countries increases, as the Obama administration donated of two military aircraft this October.
Washington seeks to tackle Islamist militants in the Sahel-Sahara band, as well as Boko Haram fighters further south, while minimising expensive, long-term troop commitments.
Niger is a desert corridor between Mali’s lawless north and Libya’s barren south. Uncontrolled routes on its territory are being used by Islamist militants, including some with ties to Al-Qaeda.
It would be noted that another neighbour of Nigeria that received military assistance from the USA is Cameroon. Up to 300 military specialists and unmanned aerial vehicles are being deployed there, the White House confirmed in the middle of October.
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