Germany have concluded their eight-year mission in Niger, relinquishing control of a key airbase in Niamey. A military plane carrying the last 60 German troops stationed at the base landed in Germany on Friday 23 August, signaling the end of the deployment. A second A400M transport aircraft, carrying essential equipment, was also en route back to Germany.
The airbase, located on the outskirts of Niamey, had been manned by up to 120 German military personnel and was considered a crucial asset in Western efforts to contain terrorism in the region.
The signing ceremony of the documents took place on August 29 at the transport air base 101 in Niamey in the presence of members of the military hierarchy of the two countries.
“Tonight’s ceremony marks the end of the definitive withdrawal of German military personnel from Niger, as well as the closure and transfer of their influence,” said one of the members of the disengagement committee.
Before the signing, the Nigerien and German military inspected the base.
Berlin earlier announced that it can no longer cooperate militarily with Niger because of a lack of “trust” in relations with the West African country’s military regime, German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock said earlier this month.
Germany already announced on July 6 that it will end operations at its airbase in Niger and pull out its remaining three-dozen troops by August 31. “It was not possible to continue because the trust that existed before was no longer there,” Baerbock said during a visit to nearby Ivory Coast.
Niger has been governed by a military regime since a coup d’état in July 2023, which ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained ever since. The regime has distanced itself from Western allies such as France and the United States, aligning more closely with Russia.
In late May, Germany and Niger reached an interim agreement permitting the German military to continue operating its airbase in Niamey until the end of August.
Germany will maintain its military air transport hub in Niamey for the time being, according to the German Ministry of Defence. This decision follows the European Union’s announcement to conclude its military mission in Niger by June 30.
Currently, Berlin has approximately 90 troops stationed in Niamey. These troops were part of a small European Union training mission in Niger, which received final approval from the German parliament in May of the previous year.
Welcoming the returning troops at Germany’s Wunstorf airbase, German State Secretary of Defence Nils Hilmer noted that more than 200 servicemen and women lost their lives while deployed for MINUSMA and the European Union Training Mission in Mali. Hilmer remarked that this number was “too high a price to pay in view of the limited success at the political level in this region.” The German Defence Ministry reported that three German troops were killed, and 13 were injured during the MINUSMA mission. Hilmer praised the soldiers for their outstanding military, logistical, and planning achievements during the redeployment ordered in July.
The German base in Niger has cost Germany around €130 million ($143.7 million) since its launch in 2016, the government revealed in response to a parliamentary question from lawmaker Sevim Dagdelen of the populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).
Initially, the German Defence Ministry had planned to keep the base operational after the end of the Mali mission, using it for potential evacuation or emergency missions. The base was also seen as a way to maintain a strategic foothold in the region.
Prior to the 2023 coup, Niger was a key partner of Western nations in the Sahel region of Africa, collaborating against militant groups responsible for thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions. However, negotiations to extend the agreement faltered, primarily due to the withdrawal of immunity from prosecution for the base’s personnel.
Germany has utilized the Niamey base since 2013 as a logistical hub for its forces in neighboring Mali, where they participated in the United Nations peacekeeping mission MINUSMA. The last German troops departed Mali at the end of 2023.
For several years, Germany has provided military aid to Niger to combat cross-border militancy and trafficking in the Agadez region of the Sahel. The German military trained Niger’s special forces, deploying around 150 soldiers from 2018 until the mission concluded at the end of 2022.
In 2021, Berlin provided 15 IAG Guardian Xtreme armoured vehicle to Nigér, and in 2017, Berlin also donated 100 flat-bed military trucks, 115 motorcycles, and 55 satellite phones to Niger. These resources were intended for use by Niger’s special army and police counter-terrorism units to address cross-border militancy and trafficking in the Agadez region of the Sahel.