Pentagon Set to Open Second Drone Base in Niger As it Expands Operations in Africa
Local Editor
US Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said the American military forces have carried out an operation in Somalia against Shebab militants, with the Pentagon also saying it is preparing to open a second drone base in Niger to allegedly track militants in north and west Africa.
Officials declined to give any further information on the operation. Kirby said in a statement, "We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate."
There were no further details immediately available.
The US military frequently conducts drone surveillance flights over Somalia, but airstrikes and ground raids are uncommon.
Meanwhile, the US military is preparing to open a second drone base in Niger to allegedly track Takfiri militant groups in north and west Africa amid expanding its operations in the continent.
The deal between the the US and Niger stipulates that the United States is only to fly unarmed drones out of the base for reconnaissance missions, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
Washington said it will use the drone base in the desert city of Agadez to track insurgents, arms traffickers and drug smugglers based in ungoverned areas throughout the region.
A spokesman for Africa Command declined to say how many drones or US military personnel will be deployed to Agadez, saying the operation is still in the planning stages.
Moreover, the US military continues to broaden its drone operations in Africa.
In Niger's capital Niamey, American and French forces set up neighboring drone hangars last year [2013] to conduct reconnaissance flights over Mali.
In Chad, the US Air Force has been flying drones and other aircraft from a French military base to supposedly search for hundreds of schoolgirls abducted by militants in northern Nigeria.The Pentagon also keeps watch over northern Libya with Predator drones that cross the Mediterranean from a US base in Sicily, Italy.
The Pentagon has a large drone base at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, which borders Somalia on the Horn of Africa. The US military also flies surveillance drones over Somalia from a base in Ethiopia.
While the US claims success in its utilization of drone technology in targeting militants, it has stirred up increasing global condemnation for the numerous civilian casualties resulting from its drone bombing campaigns in several countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
