NARF: US forces to train Nigerien army to combat terrorism

Ahmed Adel

The US Command in Africa pays great attention to training forces in Niger, especially following the terrorist operations carried out by armed groups in the country, especially Boko Haram, which is affiliated with ISIS.

In this context, the US Forces Command for North and West Africa announced on Friday, August 13, that US soldiers conducted a “strategic training in Niger.”

Major General Andrew M. Rohling, commander of the Southern European and African Special Task Force that oversees the US Force for North and West Africa (NARF), said in a statement, “This exercise, which took place from August 7-9, 2021, allowed the force to test its operational performance in the region.”

The statement added that the task of the force is to address crises, emergencies and terrorism in North and West Africa, “including the protection of American interests.”

The American leadership said that the US military held an “informal” meeting with its French counterparts “at the US Air Force Base 101 in Niamey.”

“The French have long been important allies who share our commitment to addressing Africa’s complex security concerns,” it added.

Niger is facing violence perpetrated by armed terrorist groups in its western part near Mali and in the southeastern part of Nigeria.

In its war against terrorists, Niger receives the support of many Western countries, including France and the United States, which establish military bases there, along with Germany, which has a logistics base.

In 2017, the number of US military personnel in Niger was estimated at about 800, mainly members of the Special Forces active against terrorist groups. In addition to the Niamey base, the United States has a large base for drones in the northern Agadez region near Libya.

In April 2018, the US Special Forces established a huge US military base in central Niger to pursue and eliminate terrorists as part of its war on terrorism in the African continent.

According to a report by the New York Times, the cost of the military base amounted to more than $110 million, as it will be used for military drones to target terrorists in West and North Africa.

The US Special Forces at that base are training the forces in Niger in ways and tactics of combating terrorism, in addition to the ways in which they can break any ambushes that the terrorists may prepare, such as the ambush prepared by terrorists on the Mali border last fall that killed four American soldiers.

One of the operations carried out by the US Special Forces succeeded in liquidating a prominent leader of al-Qaeda in southern Libya, which indicates the expansion of operations to monitor and liquidate terrorists in Africa.

The army of the Republic of Niger in West Africa intends to establish an air base to strengthen its fight against terrorist groups in the southeastern Diffa region near Nigeria.

The PA501 base will be built on an area of 32 square kilometers in the Diffa region, adjacent to Lake Chad, which has become a nest for terrorists, according to the text, which does not specify the start date of its construction or its cost.

This is the first base of its kind to be established in this landlocked, arid region, which has been suffering for six years since bloody attacks by Boko Haram and ISIS in West Africa.

This announcement comes following a terrorist attack carried out by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region on Thursday, August 5, in which at least 26 Chadian soldiers were killed and others wounded.

Boko Haram has set its sights on Niger, and in late 2014, the group launched a terrorist attack that killed three people. In February 2015, Boko Haram militants attacked a city in southeastern Niger, killing one person and wounding 20 others.

The terrorist group also launched an attack on Diffa prison in February 2015, after which two women from Boko Haram carried out a suicide terrorist attack, and in June 2018, six people were killed when three Boko Haram militants blew themselves up in simultaneous attacks in the city.

On March 30, 2020, Chad launched a military operation called Boma’s Wrath to counter terrorist group violence.

Chadian Defense Minister General Mahamat Abali Salah said that there are five sectors working to clean up the entire islands area, and the army has an agreement with two other countries, Niger and Nigeria, adding, “Currently we have men in all these countries. The process is continuing, and you will get the details little by little.”

Salah stressed that Boko Haram elements will pay a heavy price for their boldness, and the defense forces will strike them unforgettably and will be recorded in the annals of history, because the Chadian National Army, more than ever before, is determined to put an end to this band of terrorists.