Written by defenceWeb
The United States Air Force (USAF) has started limited flights from newly constructed facilities at Air Base 201 in Niger, which will later be used to carry out armed and unarmed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions in the region.
The USAF said limited, visual flight rule (VFR), operations were authorised by the US Air Force and Nigerien Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) from 1 August.
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By KAJ LARSEN
On Thursday, August 15, the international terrorist group Boko Haram attacked a military base and community in Nigeria, killing three soldiers. This comes on the heels of an even deadlier attack three weeks ago, when armed members of the group rode motorcycles into a funeral in northern Nigeria and opened fire on the procession, killing 65 mourners.
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The United States of America and Ethiopia have signed a memorandum of understanding to exchange terrorist screening information.
Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Services, Director-General, Demelash Gebremichael, signed the MoU with Charles H. Kable, Assistant Director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Director of the United States Terrorist Screening Center.
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By Nick Turse
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION and the Pentagon have repeatedly warned that China and Russia are expanding their influence across Africa, where the two longtime American adversaries “interfere with U.S. military operations and pose a significant threat to U.S. national security interests,” national security adviser John Bolton said last December. Read more
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff
For nearly two years, a deadly ambush of American soldiers in Niger has spawned investigations, recriminations and reprimands. On Wednesday, it resulted in the awarding of one of the military’s highest honors for acts of valor.
As an Army captain read the award citation for Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, the lights flickered and a summer storm rolled through this small southern Georgia town. A general spoke about the definition of a hero, and then Sergeant Wright’s father cleared his throat, gestured to the two photographs beside him and said, “This is my son.” Read more
By Stephen Losey
Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, the new commander of U.S. Africa Command, visited Somalia on Wednesday and pledged to continue pressuring violent extremists such as al-Shabab.
Townsend is now on his first trip to the African continent since he took charge of AFRICOM July 26. He met with Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre in the capital city of Mogadishu, as well as U.S. Ambassador Donald Yamamoto and senior Somali military leadership, AFRICOM said in a release. Read more
Satellite imagery shows the U.S. military is building a new approximately 20,800-square foot hangar along with its own 100,000-square foot apron and associated taxiway at its new air base outside of the city of Agadez in central Niger. The American facilities in Agadez, which will form an important regional hub for U.S. military operations in Northwest Africa, have been actively under construction since 2016. The new runway, while complete, isn’t slated to open for actual operations until some time this fall. Read more
