No decision made on movement of US forces from Niger: Pentagon

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - No decision has been made on the movement of US forces from Niger, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

"There's been no decisions made at this stage on the movement of US forces," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters when asked about the future of US troops in the West African country.

His remarks came a day after Niger said the US will submit a plan to "disengage" its soldiers from the country.

"Well, I did see that article...I really don't have anything on that.

"To my knowledge, there continue to be ongoing discussions at this time," Ryder added.

Niger terminated its longstanding military agreement with Washington in early March, declaring the presence of all 1,000 US troops and contractors "illegal."

Nigerien government spokesman Amadou Abdramane said the government considers the presence of US troops on Niger’s territory illegal because “it was not democratically approved and imposes unfavorable conditions on Niger, particularly in terms of lack of transparency on military activities.”

During the previous governments in Niger, US troops trained Nigerien forces in counterterrorism.