Niger would welcome armed U.S. drones: foreign minister

Reuters ^ | Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:57am EDT | Daniel Flynn and Abdoulaye Massalatchi

[Pan_Yan]

(Reuters) - Niger would welcome the deployment of armed U.S. drones to the West African country to help in its battle against an armed Islamist threat and drug trafficking in the Sahara, Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum said on Wednesday.

Washington deployed about 100 military personnel and unarmed surveillance drones in Niger after a French-led military operation in January destroyed an al Qaeda enclave in neighboring northern Mali.

Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou's government, concerned not only by the presence of Islamists but also the trafficking of arms, cocaine and cannabis in the north, wants to further reinforce military ties with the country's Western partners.

...

France has sent Special Forces to Niger to protect uranium mines, operated by its state-controlled nuclear energy company Areva, which are crucial to French electricity supplies. But it does not have armed drones.

[Pan_Yan]

Just in case you are trying to keep track of where all our troops are.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

[Paladin2]

Start in Mecca and work West.

[SunkenCiv]

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A map of the Sahel region showing where Al Qaeda operates (AFP/Graphic)

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Iran Deploys Troops, Ballistic Missiles To Eritrea

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Pan_Yan.

Niger would welcome the deployment of armed U.S. drones to the West African country to help in its battle against an armed Islamist threat and drug trafficking in the Sahara, Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum said on Wednesday. Washington deployed about 100 military personnel and unarmed surveillance drones in Niger after a French-led military operation in January destroyed an al Qaeda enclave in neighboring northern Mali... Issoufou's government, concerned not only by the presence of Islamists but also the trafficking of arms, cocaine and cannabis in the north, wants to further reinforce military ties with the country's Western partners.