http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/bre90s0dx-us-mali-rebels-niger/
Posted 2013/01/29 at 6:06 am EST
NIAMEY, Jan. 29, 2013 (Reuters) — Niger has given permission for U.S. surveillance drones to be stationed on its territory to improve intelligence on al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters in northern Mali and the wider Sahara, a senior government source said.
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The U.S. ambassador to Niger, Bisa Williams, made the request at a meeting on Monday with President Mahamadou Issoufou, who immediately accepted it, the source said.
"Niger has given the green light to accepting American surveillance drones on its soil to improve the collection of intelligence on Islamist movements," said the source, who asked not to be identified.
The drones could be stationed in Niger's northern desert region of Agadez, which borders Mali, Algeria and Libya, the source said.
A spokesperson for the United States' African Command (AFRICOM) declined to comment.
The United States already has drones and surveillance aircraft stationed at several points around Africa. Its only permanent military base is in the small country of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, more than 3,000 miles from Mali.
After her talks with Issoufou, Williams told reporters they had discussed economic and military cooperation and development issues. She also expressed Washington's appreciation for the French-led military mission to expel an alliance of al Qaeda-linked fighters from northern Mali.
French and Malian troops retook control of the ancient trading town of Timbuktu on Monday, as they drove deep into the heart of the desert region the size of Texas seized by Islamist fighters last year.
Washington has provided military transport planes to airlift men and equipment into Mali but said it will not send combat troops.
The head of the U.S. Africa Command, General Carter Ham, visited Niger last month. The poor, landlocked West Africa state has said it wants to have closer security cooperation with Washington.
(Reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi, Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Writing by Daniel Flynn. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)
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The U.S. is pressing its support of African nation-led efforts to push back the Islamist insurgency in Mali and has clinched a deal with Niger to that will facilitate closer monitoring of the north African region, which has become a safe haven for al Qaeda-linked terror groups.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nueland said in a Jan. 30 briefing the U.S. has earmarked $96 million in aid to the African-led International Support Mission (AFISMA) to Mali which is helping to push back the Islamist insurgency there.
Although Nuland didn’t directly confirm in her briefing that the U.S. has established a drone base in nearby Niger, she did say that after a year of work, the U.S. has signed a Status of Forces Agreement with that country’s government. News reports have said Niger has given permission for U.S. surveillance drones to be stationed on its territory to watch the al Qaeda-linked fighters in northern Mali and the Sahara region.
“I’m obviously not going to get into intelligence issues, but [the agreement] enables us to work more closely in military-to-military channels and other channels with the Government of Niger on issues that we share concerns about,” she said.
The U.S., said Nuland, is “pleased by the success” of French and Malian troops in rolling back extremists out of the southern regions of Mali, adding that French and Malian forces now control the cities of Timbuktu and Gao, as well as the airport in Kidal. She said the mayors of both towns, who had fled before the insurgency’s advance, had returned and resumed work.
Nuland said 1,400 African troops under the AFISMA mission will move in behind Malian forces and the French to stabilize northern Mali, going after the insurgents in the region to ensure that they don’t come back and regroup.
Nuland said the U.S. on Jan. 30 has earmarked a total of $96 million to support AFISMA troops, subject to congressional notification. The amount more than doubles the initial $40 million in support that had been announced on Jan. 28, according to Nuland. She said $8 million has been allocated to provide for basic logistical support for the initial Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) contingence, including immediate transport and equipment. Five million, she said, will go to assist ECOWAS formed police units that will start to deploy. The U.S. has also said the additional money will also be used for equipment, logistical support, and advisory support for AFISMA troops.
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