NEW rows erupted over the weekend around the deaths of four US soldiers under unclear circumstances in Niger earlier this month.

The White House condemned criticism of General John Kelly’s response to attacks on his handling of the ambush two weeks ago.

It follows a week of heightened tensions around the attack on October 4 by Isis fighters after the White House engaged in a public feud with Democratic Party congresswoman Frederica Wilson.

Ms Wilson said US President Donald Trump’s phone call to the widow of one the soldiers killed in the ambush was so insensitive it left her in tears.

Yesterday President Donald Trump described Ms Wilson as “whacky” in a tweet.

In an interview with Sputnik Radio on Friday, US peace campaigner Cindy Sheehan said US casualties of war were used as “political cannon fodder” by both main parties.

“The question nobody is answering is: ‘Why are there special forces in Niger anyway?’” she said.

“It doesn't matter who’s president. We need to stop being partisan politicos and really start opposing the US empire as much as possible.”

The United States Africa Command has a long-established network of almost 50 military bases across the continent, concentrated in the strategic Sahel region between the Atlantic and Indian oceans and north and central Africa.

Two of those bases are in Niger, which borders war-torn Mali and Libya, Boko Haram-plagued Nigeria and Chad.