The Pentagon this week formally ordered all 1,000 U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Niger, a blow to the Biden administration’s effort to counterterrorism and Russian influence in West Africa.

The U.S. announced in April that it would begin discussing plans for “an orderly and responsible withdrawal” after Niger’s military junta declared it would revoke its military cooperation deal with Washington. But U.S. officials have continued to negotiate with the junta over the terms of the withdrawal and whether there was any possibility some American troops could stay.

Hopes for an agreement dimmed this week when the Defense Department directed the roughly 1,000 U.S. troops in Niger to leave the country over the next several months, according to a U.S. official, who was granted anonymity to speak ahead of an announcement.