Niger ready to host US drones for Mali surveillance
NIGER: Niger said Wednesday it was ready to host a base for US drones
monitoring movements by Al-Qaeda-linked groups currently based in
northern Mali.
“If Niger has an opportunity to receive support in the shape of
aircraft or drones to monitor suspicious movements from Mali, we will
not turn our nose up at it,” Defence Minister Karidjo Mahamadou told AFP.
He added however that he was not aware of any formal deal allowing
the deployment of US drones on Niger’s soil.
A US official said Monday that the Pentagon was planning to station
drones in the region -- most likely in Niger -- to bolster surveillance
of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its allies.
Washington has expressed fears that AQIM, one of the groups that
seized control of northern Mali 10 months ago, was expanding its ambit
in the region and turning into a global security threat.
France launched a military operation in its former colony on January
and has already recaptured the north’s main cities. It hopes to hand
over to a multinational African force which has yet to fully deploy.
US President Barack Obama’s administration has provided transport
planes to help ferry French weapons and troops and offered to share
intelligence with Paris from surveillance aircraft, including reportedly
unmanned Global Hawk spy planes.
The United States and Niger signed a status of forces agreement
Monday, which will provide legal safeguards for any American forces in
the country. The Pentagon secures such agreement for base arrangements
or troop deployments.
AQIM fighters have been crossing northern Mali’s desert borders with
Mauritania, Algeria and Niger with ease to run what is believed to be a
lucrative drug and migrant smuggling operation to Europe.
They are well-trained, have abundant weaponry and hold several
Western hostages but are heavily reliant on fuel for their movements in
the vast Sahelian expanse.
AFP |