“It is very painful for us to know that their oppressors are people we knew and with whom we had cordial relations.”

The United States agreed Friday to withdraw its more than 1,000 troops from Niger, officials said, upending its posture in West Africa where the country was home to a major drone base.

A US delegation will visit Niger next week for talks with the military regime which has broken off a military agreement with Washington, state television announced Friday.

Thousands of people in Niger’s capital on Saturday protested for the immediate departure of US soldiers from the north, after the military junta in Niamey said it was withdrawing from a military agreement with Washington.

Russian military instructors have arrived in Niger with an air defence system and other equipment as part of the West African nation’s deepening security ties with Moscow, state television announced late Thursday.

A bomb blast has killed six Nigerien soldiers near the border with Mali, Niger’s army said Thursday, adding around 10 “terrorists” were later killed in air strikes.

Moscow is vying for greater influence in Niger as the military junta moves to push out the United States, Russia’s latest swoop in the region as the West’s military presence thins.

Recall that the Federal Government had last Wednesday restored the supply of electricity to the Republic of Niger following the directive of President Bola Tinubu that Nigeria’s land and air borders with the neighbouring country be opened.

It said more than 100 “terrorists” had attacked an army unit between Teguey and Bankilare using “home-made bombs and suicide vehicles”.

“Following the directive from the Federal Government of Nigeria to reopen borders between Nigeria and Niger Republic, the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nanna Nandap, has issued a directive to all Comptrollers stationed at States and Border Commands along the Nigeria-Niger Republic border, to promptly ensure strict compliance and lift restrictions on human movements.”

A US general and top officials visited Niger on Tuesday to see the ruling junta, renewing contact after the coup.

“Particularly the Sahel countries; in 2023 alone, over 3,500 terrorist attacks were recorded..”

The military-ruled West African states of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso plan to set up a joint force to fight Islamist terrorist groups.

The closure has taken a heavy toll on both sides. In Nigeria, it has sharpened the effects of an economic crisis and exposed already vulnerable communities to an increase in violent crime.

The junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have disclosed a plan to establish a confederation that will deepen their ties following their exit from the regional bloc