US sends drones to Nigeria alongside troop deployment
According to the Associated Press, on March 23rd, the US deployed drones to Nigeria amidst the country’s multifaceted security crisis.
The 200 US troops that arrived in February for training were joined by MQ-9 drones, also known as Reapers. These drones were deployed by the US military and the CIA in the Middle East over the last few years in Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen. The drones are capable of operating at altitudes exceeding 40,000 feet and can remain airborne for over 30 hours.
Nigeria’s ongoing security crisis is particularly potent in the north. In Maiduguri, one of the most prominent active Islamic militant groups is Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Another “bandit” group that specialises in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining is the IS-linked Lakurawa.
A representative of AFRICOM (U.S. Africa Command) told The Associated Press the U.S. troops “are working alongside their Nigerian counterparts to provide intelligence support, advisory assistance, and targeted training in support of the Nigerian Armed Forces.” They added that the troops and MQ-9 drones are based at Bauchi Airfield, a newly built airport in the country’s northeast. The number of drones that have been deployed has not been reported.
Each MQ-9 drone costs around $30 million, and there are separate models for land and sea. Their uses include airstrikes, but AFRICOM claims they will only be used in Nigeria for intelligence-gathering and training.
The deployment and new security partnership follow Donald Trump’s claims that Christians are being targeted amid Nigeria’s security crisis and come weeks after the US launched strikes against IS forces on December 26.
The US has maintained a significant drone base presence in countries neighbouring Nigeria. Niger was historically the primary hub, until its ruling military junta expelled US troops as part of a wider rejection of Western military presence in the region.
On March 16th, explosions in the city of Maiduguri killed at least 23 people and injured 108 more. Although no group claimed responsibility for the attacks, the explosions were reportedly reminiscent of Boko Haram’s modus operandi of coordinated attacks.
In 2009, Boko Haram launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria, enforcing its radical interpretation of Sharia law. The crisis has deepened in recent months, with militant groups from the neighbouring Sahel now operating in Nigeria, among them is Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which carried out its first attack on Nigerian soil last year.
The United Nations has reported that more than 40,000 people have been killed since Boko Haram’s insurgency in 2009. Concerns are growing that the government of Nigeria is not taking sufficient action to protect its citizens.
The Associated Press, Maghrebi.org.
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