U.S. Military Leaves Niger + Alliance of Sahel States Strengthens Post-ECOWAS Ties w/ Koffi Kouakou

The U.S. Military has officially ended its presence of around 1,000 forces in Niger, months after the military government in the country put an end to Niamey's agreement with Washington.

This, as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced plans to introduce new biometric passports as part of their withdrawal from the Western-backed ECOWAS alliance, and the formation of the new Alliance of Sahel States.

Africa Analyst Koffi Kouakou noted that the countries still have a long way to go in terms of their eventual goals of ending the threat of terrorism on their land, stabilizing their economies, and fully utilizing their own natural resources... but Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have made an incredible amount of progress since they set out to form their own alliance one year ago.