After Rep. Matt Gaetz called attention to America’s abandonment of our troops in Niger, those same troops are being brought home. However, this withdrawal opens the area up to Russian influence.

From The Floridian. The US has announced it will be withdrawing its troops from Niger following growing tensions with Niger’s government.

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The decision to withdraw also comes days after US Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) published a report outlining the abandonment of American troops in Niger by the US government.

Representative Gaetz’s report contained interviews with American troops currently stationed in Niger who allege support from the Federal government has been scarce despite deteriorating relations with Niger’s government.

Since the takeover of Niger by the “National Council for the Safeguard of the Fatherland” (CNSP, in French), negotiations between the US and Niger have broken down severely. …

Gaetz’s report claims medical and hygiene supplies are running perilously low and that US troops are at risk of being targeted by Niger’s government. …

The decision to withdraw troops was announced over the weekend.

US presence in Niger was originally established to combat terrorism, specifically armed groups that pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the Sahel region. …

From CBS News. After investing more than $1 billion in Niger over a decade, the U.S. military has agreed to withdraw its more than 1,000 forces from the West African nation over the next few months. It was not a move the U.S. had hoped to make, and officials tell CBS News it will be a severe blow to U.S. counterterrorism efforts in a region known to represent a number of major and growing threats. …

One senior U.S. military official who’s spent time in Niger told CBS News the looming withdrawal was “a devastating blow, both for our regional counterterrorism efforts and to overall peace in the region going forward.” …

Following a military coup in July 2023, Niger’s leaders made it clear in various discussions with U.S. officials that they were not interested in U.S. efforts to help guide the country on a path toward new democratic elections, and were instead turning to Russia for security services and to Iran for a possible deal on Niger’s uranium reserves.

In March, the head of the U.S. military’s Africa Command, Gen. Michael Langley, warned members of the U.S. Congress that “a number of countries are at the tipping point of being captured by the Russian Federation.”

Just days before Langley testified on Capitol Hill, he traveled to Niger to meet with the country’s junta leaders. The meeting didn’t go as U.S. officials had hoped, and soon after Langley and his entourage departed, Niger military spokesman Amadou Abdramane announced on national television that the country’s joint military agreement with the U.S. was “suspended with immediate effect.”

U.S. military sources told CBS News there was a diplomatic push to try to mend the frayed relationship, but that Nigerien officials had made it clear the security cooperation was untenable. …

The region around Niger has experienced six successful coups over the last three years alone. Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso’s ruling juntas have all issued statements of support for Niger’s new military leaders.

Burkina Faso and Mali were the first to turn to the Russian mercenary firm previously known as the Wagner Group for military training and support. …

As conflict and political turmoil rage in Africa, we urge you to pray also for Niger itself. A former Christian worker who ministered in Niger has shared the following prayer points:

• pray for lawmakers to have wisdom and discernment as the situation in Niger grows increasingly complex;
• pray for the Nigerien people who have suffered at the hands of Islamic terrorists for years;
• pray for those who have lost loved ones in random acts of violence due to Niger’s status as a political chess piece;
• pray for the junta and the official government to reach a compromise and allow peace and security to settle over the country;
• pray that Biden will have the courage to make decisions that are best for the people of Niger, regardless of how they may impact the U.S. politically;
• pray that Russia and other nefarious actors would be expelled from Niger;
• pray for protection from the spiritual warfare that has kept the country in darkness for decades;
• pray for the desperately poor in that country, who struggle just to stay alive day after day.

Share this article to urge many others to pray about this crisis.

(Excerpts from The Floridian and CBS News. Photo Credit: Diego González on Unsplash)