The United States is trying to reach a new military agreement with Niger in a last-ditch effort to stay

DAKAR, Senegal — The United States is trying to reach a new military deal with Niger that would allow it to stay in the country, weeks after the junta said its presence was no longer justified, two Western officials said Friday to the Associated Press.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Washington was actively working on options for a revised deal aimed at maintaining its grip in the West African country.

Niger plays a central role in American military operations in the African Sahel region, Washington is concerned about the spread of jihadist violence where local groups have pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups. Niger is home to a major U.S. air base, in the city of Agadez, about 920 kilometers (550 miles) from the capital Niamey, which uses it for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations. The United States has also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger's military since it began operations there in 2013.

But relations have deteriorated between Niger and Western countries since mutinous soldiers overthrew the country's democratically elected president in July. The Nigerien junta has since asked French forces to leave and turned to Russia for security. Earlier this month, Russian military trainers arrived to bolster the country's air defenses and with Russian equipment to train Nigeriens in their use.

The decision to revise the agreement was seen by one of the officials in an internal cable to State Department officials. He did not specify what the terms would be and it remains unclear whether the junta will be receptive to them.

In October, Washington officially called the military takeover a coup, triggering U.S. laws limiting the military support and aid it can provide to Niger. In March, a U.S. delegation visited Niger to hold high-level discussions to explore whether an agreement could be reached that respected the concerns of both sides, a State Department official said. .

We are in contact with the transitional authorities and discussing the next steps. The (junta) has made it clear that it wants a different model for U.S. military cooperation with Niger in the future. The nature of this cooperation is still under discussion, the official said.

The revised deal would aim to find a formula that addresses respective interests and concerns, as maintaining a U.S. presence in the country is essential to ensuring troop security, one of the officials said. The issue is not limited to counterterrorism operations, the official said. Without the presence of U.S. troops, it will become more difficult to protect and evacuate military and diplomatic personnel in the region in the event of an escalation.

The wisest policy is for the United States to disengage, but that is complicated because of the vast military and intelligence infrastructure the United States has invested in the country, said senior peace consultant Hannah Rae Armstrong. and security in the Sahel.

This puts the United States in a very bad position because it's difficult to get out of, she said. If the United States stays, it should find a new mode of engagement that deviates from the model of counterterrorism cooperation that has failed over the past decade and that will continue to pressure other states in the Sahel region to hold them accountable and violate human rights, she said.

Insa Garba Saidou, a local activist who assists Niger's military leaders with their communications, could not confirm that Niger was revising its military agreement, but said there had been lengthy discussions with the United States and that Niger was open to working with other countries.

The people of Niger and their interests must be preserved and I think that is logical, he said. Relations between the two states must be equitable and both countries must respect each other.

Mednick reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee in Washington, D.C., contributed.

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