Niger ready to host US drones for Mali
2013-01-31 09:02
Niamey - Niger said on Wednesday it was ready to host a base
for US drones monitoring movements by al-Qaeda-linked groups currently based in
northern Mali.
"If Niger has an opportunity to receive support in the
shape of aircraft or drones to monitor suspicious movements from Mali, we will
not turn our nose up at it," Defence Minister Karidjo Mahamadou told AFP.
He added, however, that he was not aware of any formal deal
allowing the deployment of US drones on Niger's soil.
A US official said on Monday that the Pentagon was planning
to station drones in the region - most likely in Niger - to bolster
surveillance of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) and its allies.
Washington has expressed fears that Aqim, one of the groups
that seized control of northern Mali 10 months ago, was expanding its ambit in
the region and turning into a global security threat.
France launched a military operation in its former colony on
January and has already recaptured the north's main cities. It hopes to hand
over to a multinational African force which has yet to fully deploy.
US President Barack Obama's administration has provided
transport planes to help ferry French weapons and troops and offered to share
intelligence with Paris from surveillance aircraft, including reportedly
unmanned Global Hawk spy planes.
The United States and Niger signed a status of forces
agreement on Monday, which will provide legal safeguards for any American forces
in the country. The Pentagon secures such agreement for base arrangements or
troop deployments.
Aqim fighters have been crossing northern Mali's desert
borders with Mauritania, Algeria and Niger with ease to run what is believed to
be a lucrative drug and migrant smuggling operation to Europe.
They are well-trained, have abundant weaponry and hold
several Western hostages but are heavily reliant on fuel for their movements in
the vast Sahelian expanse.
- SAPA
