US hands over its last military base in Niger to the ruling junta

A US and Niger flag are raised side by side at the base camp in Agadez, Niger (Carley Petesch/AP)

The US handed over its last military base in Niger to local authorities, the US Department of Defence and Niger’s Ministry of Defence announced in a joint statement on Monday.

The handing over of Airbase 201 in the city of Agadez came after US troops withdrew earlier this month from Airbase 101, a small drone base in Niger’s capital of Niamey.