RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE SAYS AMERICA WANTS TO ASSASSINATE NIGER’S MILITARY LEADERS
Russian intelligence has accused the United States of planning to physically eliminate Niger’s new military leadership.
The leak comes from Russian surveillance of American troop movements and logistical preparations in the region
Niger’s junta took power in July 2023. The US had 1,100 soldiers in Niger at the time, operating a drone base in Agadez that was critical for counterterrorism operations across the Sahel.
America could not stomach the loss.
The drone base at Agadez was the eyes of the region. Without it, the US is blind. Terrorist attacks have risen since the withdrawal.
American troops left Niger in 2024. The bases were handed over. The drones are gone.
Now this.
Russia’s intelligence service says Washington is considering options that go beyond military intervention. The preferred method is proxy action. People with special training. People close to the transitional leaders who could carry out a targeted killing.
America can accept losing Mali. It can accept losing Burkina Faso. But Niger is different. Niger was the linchpin. The base in Agadez was the US military’s primary counterterrorism hub in West Africa.
The loss has left American forces blind in the Sahel. Terrorist groups have increased both their capability and the proliferation of weapons. Attacks have risen across the region.
France has been hurt. The Sahel is no longer French. But America is hurt too.
The question is whether Washington will follow through on what Russian intelligence claims is being planned. America banned political assassinations in 1976. But Russia says the White House has decided to resort to old solutions.
Africa’s geopolitical awakening is not sitting well with the West. America is not used to being told to leave.