American intervention in Niger refers to the deployment of

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

and drones both unarmed and

armed Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in ...

by the

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

and

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

in support of the

Nigerien Government The government of Niger is the apparatus through which authority functions and is exercised: the governing apparatus of Nigerien state. The current system of governance, since the Constitution of 25 November 2010, is termed the Seventh Republic ...

and

French Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

operations against militant groups in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesOperation Juniper Shield {{Infobox military conflict , conflict=Operation Juniper Shield , partof= the War on terror (Islamist insurgency in the Sahel) , image= , caption=A United States special forces NCO watches weapons marksmanship training for a member of a Malian ...

. The special forces deployment in Niger and in the greater

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

region involves the training of host nation partner forces, enhancement of host nation security assistance efforts and to conduct counter-terrorism and surveillance and reconnaissance missions with host nation partner forces. The deployment of drones by the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

and

is to assist American and Nigerien forces in counter-terrorism operations, to monitor routes used by militants in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesoperations in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. The deployment of US troops in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

outside the village of

Tongo Tongo Tongo Tongo () is a village in the rural commune (municipality) of Tondikiwindi (also ''Tondi Kiwindi''), Ouallam Department, Tillabéri Region in southwestern Niger, 174 km north of the nation's capital Niamey and 28 km south of the b ...

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS) is a terrorist group adhering to the ideology of Salafi Jihadism. IS-GS was formed on 15 May 2015 as the result of a split within the militant group Al-Mourabitoun. The rift was a reaction to the adh ...

militants left four American and four Nigerien soldiers dead. The ambush created controversy in the public and media with many people asking as to why the US had so many troops across

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and specifically

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesTrump Administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...

and the

United States Africa Command The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM), is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U. ...

laid out plans to withdraw around 25% of all US Military forces in Africa with around 10% withdrawing from

so they could focus on threats from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

while still remaining in the area.

Background

On February 5, 2013 the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Government of Niger The government of Niger is the apparatus through which authority functions and is exercised: the governing apparatus of Nigerien state. The current system of governance, since the Constitution of 25 November 2010, is termed the Seventh Republic ...

signed a

Status of forces agreement A status of forces agreement (SOFA) is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing military forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security ...

allowing the US to be able to operate unarmed drones to assist French Forces in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

during

Operation Serval Operation Serval (french: Opération Serval) was a French military operation in Mali. The aim of the operation was to oust Islamic militants from the north of Mali, who had begun a push into the center of Mali. Operation Serval followed the ...

. Later that month president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

sent 150 troops to

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesUnited States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesUnited States Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, are a special operations special operations force, force of the United States Ar ...

have deployed to

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesWest Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

nations to train and to conduct operations with local forces. Life-of-a-mission-supporting-french-fighter-aircraft

Attacks

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 An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

no American or Nigerien personnel were killed or wounded. In some of the attacks enemy combatants had been killed with at least 32 killed in the October and December 2017 incidents.

Tongo Tongo ambush

On October 4, 2017 a joint American and Nigerien force of 46 personnel and eight vehicles was ambushed outside the village of

by an estimated force of over 50 militants with around 20 motorcycles and 12

technicals Technicals may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict * TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group See also * Technical (disambiguation) * Cambridge Technicals Cambridge Tech ...

from the

(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. The battle came to an end after French

Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...

fighter jets and helicopters carrying 53 special forces and three Nigerien response elements of at least 100 soldiers and a helicopter reached the village, however the fight was over as the enemy had departed the area.

December 2017 attack

On December 6, 2017 two months after the October ambush a joint force of American

Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...

and Nigerien soldiers were attacked by

Islamic State – West Africa Province The Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) is a militant group and administrative division of the Islamic State (IS), a Salafi jihadist militant group and unrecognised proto-state. ISWAP is primarily active in the Chad Basin, and fights ...

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. No American or Nigerien soldiers were killed or wounded.

Other incidents

On February 2, 2017 US Green Beret Shawn Thomas was killed and another injured in a non hostile vehicle accident in Niger. On December 9, 2018 a French soldier was killed and a US service member injured in a car accident in Northern Niger. Both the French and US militaries are probing the incident as drinking while driving related.{{Cite web, url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/12/12/us-military-probes-niger-crash-killed-french-soldier.html, title = Military Daily News

References

Military operations involving the United States 21st-century military history of the United States Central Intelligence Agency 2010s in Niger Niger–United States relations Terrorism in Niger