Russian troops are entering the base housing American soldiers in Niger, a US official says

Russian soldiers have entered an air base in Niger housing US troops, a senior US defense agency told Reuters. The move follows a decision by the Nigerien junta to expel US troops from the country.

The military officers running the West African country have ordered the US to withdraw its nearly 1,000 troops from the country, which until a coup last year had been a key partner in Washington’s fight against insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more people.

A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces did not mingle with US forces but used a separate hangar at Air Base 101, next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niger’s capital Niamey.

The Russian military’s move brings U.S. and Russian forces into close proximity at a time when the country’s military and diplomatic rivalry is intensifying over the conflict in Ukraine.

It also raises questions about the fate of U.S. installations in the country after a withdrawal.

“(The situation) is not great, but manageable in the short term,” the official said.

The Nigerien and Russian embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US and its allies have been forced to move troops from a number of African countries after coups that prompted power groups to distance themselves from Western governments. In addition to the impending departure from Niger, American troops have also left Chad in recent days, while French troops have been expelled from Mali and Burkina Faso.

At the same time, Russia is trying to strengthen relations with African countries by portraying Moscow as a friendly country without colonial baggage on the continent.

Mali, for example, has become one of Russia’s closest African allies in recent years, with Wagner Group mercenaries deployed there to fight jihadist insurgents.

Russia has described relations with the United States as “below zero” over U.S. military and financial assistance to Ukraine in the war that is now nearing the end of its second year.