US Drone crashes in Niger

The crash occurred in the early morning around 3:40 am at Diori Hamani International airport, media reports confirmed. The runway was closed for nearly nine hours to enable crews to repair the damage.

In a statement by the US Air Forces in Europe and Africa, it was revealed that the drone was an unarmed MQ-9 Reaper, which is remotely operated and capable of maintaining airborne surveillance efforts for dozens of hours.

“The US government is working closely with the government of Niger to secure the scene and mitigate inconveniences caused by the incident,” the statement read. “The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.”

The use of surveillance drones over Niger has been a common occurrence since 2013, when the United States started the practice in an attempt to bolster French troops battling Islamist militants in neighbouring Mali. Roughly 1,200 French soldiers are trying to contain an insurgency that erupted in 2012.

In fact, Niger has become a key staging ground for American and French drone flights. The two countries have been cooperating out of Niamey – the country’s capital, and the location of the Diori Hamani airport – as they try to combat concerning spikes in jihadism throughout Africa. In September, the US announced it would open a second drone base in central Niger, where it could track extremists in Mali and Libya more effectively.