US Moves to Withdraw 200 Troops from Nigeria, Retain Intelligence Team
The United States is preparing to withdraw about 200 military personnel deployed to Nigeria to support counterterrorism operations, with the larger contingent expected to leave by the end of September, according to a report by The New York Times.
US and Nigerian officials told the newspaper that the deployment, although relatively small, produced significant results in supporting Nigeria’s efforts against Islamist militant groups.
Small teams of US military trainers and intelligence analysts are expected to remain in Nigeria after the withdrawal to sustain the bilateral intelligence and security partnership, according to the report published on Thursday.
US officials reportedly described the Nigerian deployment as a potential model for future American counterterrorism operations in Africa.
The planned withdrawal follows a broader reduction in the US military presence in Nigeria after a May operation that resulted in the death of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, identified by US officials as the second-in-command of ISIS in the Lake Chad Basin.
Last month, Dagvin Anderson, commander of the US Africa Command, said the operation had significantly weakened ISIS leadership both in Nigeria and internationally.
Anderson also said Nigerian security forces had remained active following the operation and were working to disrupt terrorist groups’ ability to sustain themselves independently.
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Despite the troop reduction, the AFRICOM commander indicated that the United States would maintain its intelligence-sharing partnership with Nigeria.
The development comes weeks after Nigeria and the US held a second round of discussions in Washington under a joint working group established to address the protection of Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
The working group was established following US President Donald Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over allegations of widespread persecution of Christians.
The Nigerian government has rejected the characterisation of the country’s insecurity as having a single religious or ideological cause, maintaining that the violence stems from multiple and interconnected security challenges.
Analysts have similarly cautioned against viewing Nigeria’s insecurity solely through the prism of Islamist militancy.
Ladd Serwat, Africa senior analyst at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, ACLED, previously told TheCable that Islamist militant groups account for only a relatively small proportion of the country’s overall violence.
Nigeria continues to face a complex security environment involving terrorism spilling over from the wider Sahel, banditry in the North-West, Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgencies, communal and farmer-herder conflicts, as well as cult violence and militia activities.
The planned withdrawal therefore marks a reduction in the size of the US military footprint in Nigeria rather than an end to Washington’s security engagement with Abuja, with intelligence cooperation and limited advisory support expected to continue.
