The United States has maintained a notable military presence in West Africa for several decades, primarily aimed at countering the rise of Islamic terrorist groups and militias. This presence has evolved through different administrations, each with its own approach to addressing security challenges in the region. The Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa has been heavily affected by the rise of Islamic terrorist groups and militias as a result of the region's porous borders, weak central governments, ethnic factionalism, and more recently an influx of arms following the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in Libya. Groups such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, and Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, among others have flourished in the region's sprawling and unpoliced deserts. Niger has been a particularly violent hotbed of Islamic extremism and anti-government attacks.
Historical Context and Objectives
The US military operates not only to provide an advantage to the United States and its ruling elites, but it functions - along with the armies of the other NATO nations, including France - as the guarantor of Western corporate interests and the principles of capitalism. Nkrumah came to the same conclusion in 1965, stating that ‘Africa’s raw materials are an important consideration in the military build-up of the NATO countries… Their industries, especially the strategic and nuclear factories, depend largely upon the primary materials that come from the less developed countries’. Reports from the US military routinely sketch out the responsibility of its range of armed forces to ensure a steady stream of raw materials for corporations - especially energy - and to maintain unimpeded movement of goods through shipping channels.
Alongside the US is France, whose military presence in Niger is closely linked to the imperatives of the French energy sector, which requires the uranium mined in Arlit (Niger). As Chinese private and public commercial interests have increased on the African continent, and as Chinese firms have consistently outbid Western firms, US pressure to contain China on the continent has increased. The US government’s New Africa Strategy (2019) characterised the situation in competitive terms: ‘Great power competitors, namely China and Russia, are rapidly expanding their financial and political influence across Africa. They are deliberately and aggressively targeting their investments in the region to gain a competitive advantage over the United States’.
Africa is the world’s second-largest landmass with the second-largest continental population (1.34 billion people in 2020) - more than the population of North America and Europe combined (1.1 billion people). The UN Environmental Programme estimates that Africa’s natural capital accounts for between 30% and 50% of the total wealth of African countries. African states’ reliance upon the export of raw materials of various kinds - due to the power of multinational corporations and the lack of sufficient industrialisation in a range of African countries - has put them in a position of dependency on foreign capital.
Key Locations and Operations
The United States has twenty-nine known military facilities in fifteen countries on the continent, while France has bases in ten countries. The African continent does not have an unusually large number of foreign military bases. No country has a greater military footprint around the world than the United States. The US has the largest military force on the planet, both in terms of the vast number of resources that the US puts into its military and the reach of the military via its base structure as well as its naval and aerial capacity. No other military force in the world matches that of the United States, which spends more on its military budget than the next eleven countries combined.
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Several key locations have been central to US military operations in West Africa:
- Djibouti (Camp Lemonier): In the East African nation of Djibouti lies a US military base that was originally established as a garrison for the French Foreign Legion. The base would later be leased by Djibouti to the US in 2002. President Obama and Djiboutian President Guelleh signed a 20-year extension of the American lease, at $63 million a year in rent.
- Kenya (Manda Bay): This resort location in Kenya has been used by US troops as a base of operation for years now. In 2006, this base became an airfield with increased personnel, aircraft, and operations.
- Niger (Air Base 101, Niamey, and Air Base 201, Agaedez): Both these airbases are located in the West African country of Niger. forces assigned here have the mission of sharing Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) data with allied and partner nations and training local military units to combat terrorists on the ground. The troops' presence in Niger according to the US has helped stifled terrorist activities in the region.
- Egypt (MFO South Camp): The Multinational Force & Observers (MFO) is an international peacekeeping force that has a base in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula. The US military also runs a naval medical research unit in Cairo known as Namru.
- Cameroon (Contingency Location Garoua): This is yet another US military base that was set up to aid Africa in fighting a common enemy.
Specific Incidents and Engagements
Between 2015 and 2017, American personnel had been involved in at least 10 firefights while operating with partner Nigeriens. In these past firefights excluding the October 2017 ambush no American or Nigerien personnel were killed or wounded. On October 4, 2017 a joint American and Nigerien force of 46 personnel and eight vehicles was ambushed outside the village of Tongo Tongo by an estimated force of over 50 militants with around 20 motorcycles and 12 technicals from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). During the firefight which lasted for more than three hours, four American, four Nigerien and at least 21 ISGS militants died and eight Nigerien and two Americans including the teams commander were wounded.
On December 6, 2017 two months after the October ambush a joint force of American Green Berets and Nigerien soldiers were attacked by Islamic State - West Africa Province militants in the Chad Lake basin Region. During the firefight 11 militants died including two wearing suicide vests, one weapons cache was also destroyed during the operation. On December 9, 2018 a French soldier was killed and a US servicemember was injured in a car accident in northern Niger, near Arlit. In October 2016, American humanitarian Jeffrey Woodke was kidnapped from his home by armed men.
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Recent Developments and Challenges
However, a recent debacle between Niger and the US has resulted in the termination of this relationship. US troops have begun to exit this territory owing to a soured relationship. For months, the US has failed to either fully align with or outright oppose the ruling military, analysts say. On the one hand, Washington seemed ready to maintain defence relations with the new ruling power, but on the other, it felt compelled to denounce the coup and pause aid to Niger. Americans in AfricaMaintaining military bases in African countries is seen by the US as an important way to monitor armed groups and respond to growing threats of armed violence before it reaches the US’s doorstep, officials often say.
Since 2008, AFRICOM has maintained a presence in 26 African countries. But some 100 US soldiers stationed in Chad were also forced to leave in May after Chad’s air force said they failed to to provide documents justifying their presence at an air base near the capital, N’Djamena. To the east, the 5,000-man US military base, Camp Lemmonier, is positioned strategically in Djibouti from where personnel monitor the Red Sea as well as Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Somalia’s al-Shabab group. US troops also train the Kenyan army to target al-Shabab from several bases, including Camp Simba in Kenya’s coastal Lamu region.
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The US’s Niger exit makes clear just how much Washington’s military influence has shrunk - at least in West Africa - in recent years, experts say. Under former President Mahamadou Issoufou (2011-2021), the country appeared to have left the history of coups behind it, becoming relatively democratic and stable. The US invested massively, building Base 101 in Niamey. The larger Base 201 in Agadez - 914 km (568 miles) from Niamey - is closer to the tri-border violence hotspot and cost $110m to build. It is one of the most expensive American bases anywhere. Together, the two bases hosted at least 900 soldiers and additional personnel to make 1,100 people.
They’re all relatively stable, civilian-led and the US already conducts joint military exercises with the armies in those countries. The AFRICOM commander Langley, who was part of the group which travelled to Benin and Côte d’Ivoire in April and May, told a digital news briefing on Thursday this week, that talks with the governments had taken place, adding the US was “pivoting to … like-minded countries with shared values and shared objectives”. Laessing said the coastal countries’ increasing vulnerability to armed groups makes it likely they will accept Washington’s overtures. Benin, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are seeing increasing violence along their northern border regions by the groups. US aircraft and personnel are already being redirected to Benin, according to a Wall Street Journal report this week. A US airbase there is also now being refurbished to receive them, the Journal reported.
The Evolving Security Architecture
The withdrawal of Western troops from Niger, Mali and other Sahel states by the end of 2024 has significantly changed the security architecture of West Africa. The USA is realigning its military and security policy role in West Africa. Following the collapse of its previous partners in the Sahel, Washington is focusing on alliances with states in the coastal region of the Gulf of Guinea, particularly Benin. The country has an elected government and is stable but is massively threatened by jihadist violence from the Sahel. In northern Benin, groups linked to Al-Qaeda (JNIM) and the Islamic State (ISWAP) have carried out an increasing number of attacks and assaults.
Meanwhile, the USA is planning to use Benin as a new base for reconnaissance missions. The US Africa Command AFRICOM confirmed that the modernization of an airfield in Benin has begun, in some cases even "before the coup in Niger" (July/August 2023). In addition, US special forces are apparently active as advisors in Benin, training and supporting the Beninese army in the fight against terrorist groups. Over 700 Beninese soldiers have recently received US training in border security tactics. Since the beginning of 2025, there have been several visits by high-ranking US delegations to Benin, during which cooperation agreements were also signed. Strategically placed at the crossroads between the Sahel region and the Gulf of Guinea, Benin could become what Niger once was: an outpost for Western counter-terrorism operations.
Future Strategies and Challenges
One of the USA's declared aims is to bring local partners to the fore. For some years now, Washington has been propagating the idea that African states should take the lead in security matters themselves, while the USA provides advice. Instead of their own combat troops, training missions, intelligence support and equipment assistance should form the core of the advisory services. The USA therefore provides know-how, technology (drones, reconnaissance) and special forces as trainers, while armies such as those in Benin, Côte d'Ivoire or Nigeria carry out the actual ground operations. By strengthening local forces, it is hoped that less direct US intervention will be required in the long term.
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Another goal is to maintain the reconnaissance capability in West Africa, even if ground troops are withdrawn. The USA is investing in drone technology and mobile surveillance. The idea behind this: Even with a small presence on the ground, the US can monitor terrorist activities via high-tech and, if necessary, carry out targeted strikes (e.g. by drone) as in Somalia. For France, the US withdrawal from Niger means an intensification of an already negative development for Paris, which reached its peak at the beginning of 2025: The extensive military withdrawal from West Africa - a dramatic turning point in French Africa policy.
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