“Even a small American footprint is large for many African countries,” a Western official in the Sahel said.

US Major General Kenneth Ekman said that Nigeria would like to acquire US military gear but showed no inclination to welcome an enduring deployment of American troops, while a Ghanaian government official said the Western African nation did not intend to increase US presence in its territory.

The United States suspended its military cooperation with Chad and Niger and withdrew over 1,100 troops from the two countries at the request of local governments this year, marking the end of a neocolonial approach toward Africa, according to the American Veteran Defense Department analyst.