US renews effort to retain foothold in Niger as junta looks to push troops out [Video]

• The U.S. is attempting a new military agreement with Niger, shortly after the country’s junta deemed American presence no longer justified.
• Niger is a key U.S. military outpost in the Sahel, home to a key airbase and rising threats of violence by Islamic militants.
• “We are in touch with the transition authorities and are discussing next steps. The (junta) has made it clear that they want a different model for what U.S. military cooperation with Niger looks like going forward. What that cooperation is, is still under discussion,” a U.S. official said after a trip to Niger last month.

The United States is attempting to create a new military agreement with Niger that would allow it to remain in the country, weeks after the junta said its presence was no longer justified, two Western officials told The Associated Press Friday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the …