US MQ-1B Predator Unmanned Drone Aircraft Arrive Niger Republic To Monitor Boko Haram

"US Predator Drones Have Arrived Niger" The spokesman of the Nigerien government, Marou Amadou, made the statement during a show on national television “Tele Sahel”

Amadou said the American drones would enhance the capacity of Niger in terms of intelligence and help combat the threat of Boko Haram islamists operating in Northern Nigeria.

“It is very crucial for us to possess this kind of aircraft to better secure our borders (…) Our intelligence capacities are very weak,” he said.

The spokesperson added that without the drones and the reconnaissance flights, the Nigerien army would not be able to ensure the security of the border, which is a large one and not far from where the Malian military operations are currently carried out.

Niger deployed a 675-strong troops to Mali to back the efforts of the Africa-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) while reinforcing its security presence along its borders with the conflict-affected West-African country.