WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is mulling over the withdrawal of U.S. troops from West Africa as part of a plan to redirect the deployment of around 200,000 forces abroad, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The contemplated cut of U.S. military presence in Africa would likely to focus on several hundred American troops stationed in Niger, Chad and Mali, the report said.

The United States has deployed some 6,000 to 7,000 troops in Africa, most of which have been concentrated in the sub-Saharan region and in the Horn of Africa, it added.

Earlier in October, Esper said roughly 1,000 U.S. troops withdrawn from northeastern Syria will be repositioned into western Iraq.