Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting U.S. troops, a senior U.S. defense official told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger's junta to expel U.S. forces.

Before a coup in Niger in July 2023 led to the demand that American troops leave the country, the U.S. used two Niger airbases to fly drones on counterterrorism missions in the Sahel region of Africa.

A U.S. official says Russia has moved some troops onto an airbase in Niger where a small number of U.S. forces remain after most American troops left the base in the nation’s capital