The United States of America is set to withdraw about 200 troops deployed in Nigeria this year to help fight Islamist militants,
According to a report by the New York Times on Thursday, a Small teams of trainers and intelligence analysts are however, expected to remain after the larger contingent leaves by late September.
Citing US military officials, the report noted that American officials described the deployment of troops in Nigeria as a model for future operations in Africa.
American and Nigerian officials told the publication that the relatively small deployment to the West African nation had outsized results.
Last month, Dagvin Anderson, commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), announced that the US had pulled back many of its troops in Nigeria following the May operation that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIS, in the Lake Chad Basin.
Anderson said the operation significantly degraded ISIS’ leadership in Nigeria and globally.
He added that Nigeria had been “very active” since the May operation, working to eliminate terrorists’ self-sufficiency.
The AFRICOM chief noted that the US would retain its intelligence partnership with Nigeria.
The development comes weeks after the US and Nigeria held their second round of talks in Washington under a joint working group focused on protecting Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
The working group was formed in response to President Donald Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) over allegations of Christian genocide. Those allegations prompted US military interventions in the country.
However, insecurity has continued to surge.
Nigeria has rejected the position that the violence in the country has a single cause and has insisted that the crisis is multifaceted.
Ladd Serwat, Africa senior analyst at ACLED, had told TheCable that the activities of Islamist militant groups “constitute only a small proportion of the overall violence” in Nigeria.
Security threats in the country comprise terrorism spilling over from neighbouring Sahelian states; banditry in the north-west; Islamist militants such as ISWAP, ISIS, and Boko Haram; pastoralist and farmer clashes; and cult groups and militia.
Serwat described the mix as “a very complicated security situation”.
