WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Niger reached an agreement allowing American military personnel to be stationed in the West African country and enabling them to take on Islamist militants in neighboring Mali, according to U.S. officials.
The accord could make it possible for the U.S. to base unmanned surveillance aircraft there, said one official, adding that no decision has been made to station the drones. President Barack Obama’s administration doesn’t intend to send combat troops to Niger, a White House official said.
The pact will allow deployment of U.S. personnel as well as other military assets in Niger to respond to the terror threat in the region, a U.S. defense official said. The so-called status-of-forces agreement grants immunity from domestic laws to U.S. personnel stationed in the country. The moves come after France began airstrikes in Mali on Jan. 11 and later deployed ground troops, wresting control of several cities, including Timbuktu, from Islamist militants.
European and U.S. leaders have said northern Mali is turning into a haven for Islamist militants intent on attacking Western targets.
While the contours of the U.S. military presence are still being worked out, the deal is intended to increase intelligence collection, among other purposes, the defense official said. The officials all asked to not be named in discussing the accord.
The agreement with Niger has been in the works for more than a year and isn’t tied to the French actions in Mali, Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters Tuesday. Still, agreements of these types can “establish, potentially, a military presence, or at least a presence of U.S. troops in the region,” he said.
“These agreements tend to be frameworks” and “signal deeper cooperation with other countries, and we see that happening with the government of Niger,” Little said.
The New York Times reported Monday on the accord and the possibility of deploying drones in the country. Asked about that prospect, Little declined to discuss any specific capability that might be based in Niger.
The pact comes after the Pentagon announced an agreement Saturday to provide aerial refueling support to French troops battling extremists in Mali, including militants operating under the banner of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM. Together, the accords signal wider U.S. involvement in confronting terror groups in North Africa. The U.K. has already provided transport and surveillance aircraft to help the French mission.
U.S. Air Force C-17 transports have ferried more than 391 tons of equipment and almost 500 French military personnel into Bamako, Mali’s capital, Little, the Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday. Air Force tankers started refueling French aircraft conducting operations over Mali on Sunday, offloading more than 33,000 pounds of fuel, Little said.
If approved, the U.S. base in Niger would likely provide surveillance for the Frenchled operation in Mali, the Times reported. While initially only unarmed drones would fly out of the base, the site may be used for missile strikes at some point if the threat worsens, the newspaper said.
Gen. Carter Ham, head of the U.S. military command in Africa, said the subject was “too operational for me to confirm or deny,” the Times reported, citing an e-mail it received from Ham. The Africa Command’s plan still needs approval from the Pentagon, the White House and officials in Niger, the newspaper reported.
Information for this article was contributed by Daniel Ten Kate, Pauline Bax, Diakaridia Dembele and Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg News.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 01/30/2013