Russian and US troops have been operating out of the same military base in Niger for at least several weeks, a US defense official and another source familiar with the matter told CNN, putting the two militaries in close proximity to each other at a time of heightened tensions over the war in Ukraine and as the country’s ruling junta has made clear it wants US forces to leave.

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting U.S. troops, a senior U.S. defense told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger's junta to expel U.

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.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that there is "no significant issue" with the protection of American troops in Niger.

Proximity of the two countries’ forces follows request by junta ruling west African nation for the US to pull its troops out