U.S. LEAVING NIGER... FOR IVORY COAST?

So the US military has been sent packing by Niger. It seems the sides have agreed that Washington will wind down operations at its Air Base 201 in Agadez by 15th September. It’s America’s biggest drone base, so that puts an end to all those unmanned missions, you might think… but is the Pentagon really reducing its footprint in West Africa?

A recent Le Monde splash cites sources saying the Americans are eying a new military base in nearby Ivory Coast - and have received the green light. The US general responsible for West Africa ops has already denied this. Still, with arch-rivals China and Russia gaining friends and influence in the region, it’s hard to take his remarks at face value.

France is another power that’s got its tail between its legs in West Africa - having also been expelled from Niger, as well as from Mali and Burkina Faso. If the latter’s president, Ibrahim Traoré, is to be believed, Paris, too, has its eye on the Ivory Coast. In fact, he claims the French are already there (and in Benin!), using Abidjan as a centre to orchestrate covert operations to destabilise Burkina Faso. Traoré has vowed to share some serious evidence of this with the world “in days.”

While we wait for confirmation of what the French and Americans are really up to in West Africa, your thoughts and insights into the situation with the Ivory Coast are most welcome in the comments!