NIAMEY — Russia has delivered military equipment to Niger that will provide the African country with the “latest generation of anti-aircraft defense systems,” Nigerien state broadcaster RTN said Thursday.

The equipment arrived in Niamey on Wednesday along with 100 Russian military instructors who will install the system and train Nigerien soldiers to use it, RTN added.

Russian state media RIA Novosti said early Friday that Russian military instructors arrived in Niger “to train local forces in the fight against terrorism.”

“This means that Russia is returning to Africa,” an RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene, adding that NATO troops have also been arriving in Niamey to further catch a transfer flight to Agadez where “right now about 1,100 American soldiers are located.”

The arrival of Russian instructors followed a recent phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Nigerien General Abdourahamane Tiani on March 26 when the two leaders discussed “ensuring security and combating terrorism.”

Since seizing power in a coup last year, Niger’s junta has been strengthening military ties with Russia while turning away from the US and France.

Last month, the junta said it was ending an accord with the US that allowed military personnel and civilian staff from the US Department of Defense to operate in Niger.

France, Niger’s former colonial ruler, withdrew its troops from the African nation at the end of 2023. — CNN