“The defence ministry of Niger and the US Defence Department announce that the withdrawal of American forces and equipment from the Niamey base 101 is now completed,” the two countries said in a statement.

The US military withdrew its personnel from Niger’s Air Base 101 near the airport in the capital Niamey on Sunday, ahead of its exit from a major drone base near the desert city of Agadez in the coming weeks.

Niger’s ruling junta in April ordered the US to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country following a coup last year in the West African nation.

“The defence ministry of Niger and the US Defence Department announce that the withdrawal of American forces and equipment from the Niamey base 101 is now completed,” the two countries said in a statement.

Niger had already ordered the withdrawal of troops from France, the former colonial power and traditional security ally, and has strengthened ties with Russia which has provided instructors and equipment.

“Thanks to effective cooperation and communication between the Nigerian and American armed forces, this operation was completed ahead of schedule and without any complications,” Niger’s defence ministry and the US Department of Defense said in a joint statement.

The focus will next shift to withdrawal from the $100 million drone base near Agadez in central Niger, which had provided crucial intelligence about Islamic extremist groups, US Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman said on Friday.

The pull-out from that base, known as Air Base 201, will likely take place in August, he said.

Niger’s ruling junta has given the US until September 15 to remove troops from its territory.

In April, Russia has sent military trainers to Niger.

Niger and its military-led neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso signed a “confederation treaty” on Saturday, signalling an ever-closer alignment between the countries in the insurgency-torn central Sahel.

They have torn up defence agreements with US, European and United Nations forces.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Sunday the region risked disintegration and worsening insecurity after junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger made clear their intentions to leave the bloc by signing their confederation treaty.

ECOWAS commission president Omar Touray said freedom of movement and a common market of 400 million people were some of the major benefits of the near 50-year-old bloc, but that these were under threat if the three countries left.

Funding of economic projects worth over $500 million in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger could also be stopped or suspended, Touray told an ECOWAS summit in Nigerian capital Abuja.

The three countries’ withdrawal will be a major blow to security cooperation particularly in terms of intelligence sharing and participation in the fight against terrorism, he added.

ECOWAS leaders gathered at the summit to discuss the implications of the treaty by the Alliance of Sahel States, whose juntas seized control in a series of coups in the three states in 2020-2023 and severed military and diplomatic ties with regional allies and Western powers.

A decision on a regional standby force to fight terrorism and a regional currency would also be made, Touray said.