Washington, April 18 (FN Bureau) A US military whistleblower is warning that senior officials at the American Embassy in Niger are intentionally suppressing intelligence in order to maintain the image of strong relations with the host country, the Washington Post reported, citing a complaint it obtained. The report said on Wednesday that a US airman filed a private whistleblower complaint to Congress accusing top officials at the US Embassy in Niamey of “intentionally suppressed intelligence” as a means to maintain the “facade of a great country-to-country relationship.” The report said the whistleblower believes the embassy’s actions could have potential implications for US relations with other African nations and the safety of American personnel in the region. The State Department and Defence Department rejected the claims of negligence, the report noted.
However, the Biden administration admits that talks with Niger’s transitional government to maintain a US military presence in Niger are difficult and may fail to produce an agreement, the report added. Last month, a spokesperson for the Nigerien military said that the country’s transitional government, which took power in a coup last July, ended the military agreement with immediate effect, citing the interests of the Nigerien people. Niger’s Interior Ministry recently said the United States had promised to submit a plan for the “disengagement” of troops from the West African country after Niamey ended its military pact with Washington. The statement was published on social media after Nigerien Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba hosted US Ambassador Kathleen FitzGibbon for talks earlier in the day.