The Biden administration is proceeding with the redeployment of US forces in Niger. The operation involves moving around 1,100 personnel and equipment away from the capital city of Niamey.
This development takes place in the midst of a coup in the country, negotiations between the military government and France for the withdrawal of French military forces, and military intervention plans devised by the “Economic Community of West Africa” (ECOWAS), with French support.
As stated by Sabrina Singh, the Deputy Press Representative of the Pentagon, some personnel along with military infrastructure, weapons, and equipment are being shifted from the US 101st Air Force Base in Niamey to their 201st Air Force Base in the city of Agadez. This move is being undertaken for precautionary reasons.
The 201st Air Force Base has been described as one of the largest Air Force-led construction project in history. The base was created to house aircrafts and drones with the aim of promoting US interests in sub-Saharan Africa. The pretext for the construction of the base was given by the “need to keep the boot on” various groups – al-Qaeda and Islamic State as well as the Nigerian jihadist organization Boko Haram.
According to Singh, the position of the US forces in Niger remains unchanged, expressing optimism that the situation on the ground can be resolved through diplomatic means. In addition, she confirmed that all 1,100 American personnel are still present in the West African country and noted that there is “currently no immediate threat to American personnel or any violence on the ground”
What is certain is that the people of Africa have nothing good to expect from the continued presence of US forces.
The communists of the United States condemn the ongoing massacres of the working class and the people in Africa by the bourgeoisie and various imperialist powers. These acts are rooted in the expansion of monopoly capitalism. The struggle against imperialism, aimed at the withdrawal of all US military bases and forces, is inseparable from the fight against the bourgeoisie within our own nations, for the overthrow of capitalism and the victory of socialism-communism.
