Niger follows Djibouti in allowing weaponized US Drone base

U.S. drone base in Niger

Niger follows Djibouti in allowing weaponized US Drone base

By Yosief Abraham Z

Djibouti, the only African country that allowed a base for weaponized drones of the United States, has now been followed by Niger. In support to the French plea for battling terrorism in West Africa, Niger is now the second African country to accept US armed drone presence. In attempt to fight terrorism groups in Somalia and missions of post-piracy security in southern Red Sea, US drones has also been active in the region of Horn Africa.

U.S. Drone Base Location In Niger

Reports indicate that U.S. predator drones retaliatory attack on Al Shabab training camp on June 25 of 2011 amplified the presence of weaponized drones in the region. Following to the deadly airstrike that killed Ibrahim al-Afghani, a senior al Shabaab leader back then, Djibouti has been armoring US presence indisputably.

With yet unclassified details on the attributions of US-Djibouti consent on weaponized drone strategies, still there are skeptics if such agreements allow countries carryout surveillance efforts in multi-layered mechanisms. John Owen Brennan, former chief counterterrorism advisor to ex-U.S. President, Barack Obama, slams such remarks.

“There is nothing in international law that bans the use of remotely piloted aircraft …against our enemies outside of an active battlefield, at least when the country involved consents or is unable or unwilling to take action against the threat,” John Owen Brennan clarifies. Thus, after 2004, Djibouti’s consent and Niger readiness allows US to synchronize its armed drones’ presence with its whims to expand military supervision in Horn and Western Africa.

US and Djibouti denounces such claims and elaborate it as part of the integrated efforts to eliminate latent terrorism threats.

______________________

Yosief Abraham Z is a freelance journalist and Executive Director of HorMid Media and Art Center. You can contact him at josiabraham29@gmail.com

Sponsored Ads