Niger coup opens a door for Putin in Africa

Wagner seizes on unrest in battle for influence.Supporters of mutinous soldiers with a Russian flag in the capital of Niger

SAM MEDNICK/AP

Richard Assheton

, Lagos |

Jane Flanagan

|

Tom Parfitt

Friday July 28 2023, 9.00pm, The Times

The general who has declared himself Niger’s new leader appeared on state television with a request for international support — an appeal quickly pounced upon by Russia’s Wagner group as the chance for a new foothold in Africa’s “coup belt”.

General Abdourahmane Tchiani led the presidential guard to move on Wednesday against the democratically elected President Bazoum, one of the West’s last steadfast partners in the battle against jihadists in Africa’s Sahel region.

Justifying his actions, Tchiani made a direct plea for understanding from foreign authorities, saying: “I ask the technical and financial partners who are friends of Niger to understand the specific situation of our country in order to provide it with all the support necessary to enable it to meet the challenges”.

Abdourahmane Tchiani declares himself leader

The rebellion was welcomed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group, whose mercenaries are propping up neighbouring juntas. He described it as a battle by the people of Niger against their colonisers.

“Thousands of Wagner fighters are capable of bringing order and of destroying terrorists and of not allowing them to harm the local populations of these states,” Prigozhin said in a Telegram voice message.

African countries and western powers have reacted with alarm to the coup and demanded that Bazoum, who had been in power for two years, be freed and constitutional order restored. If it holds, the putsch would complete an unbroken swathe of junta-led states from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, where Russia and western powers have vied for influence. Germany, Italy, France, and the US have troops in Niger on military training and counterinsurgency missions.

At the Russia-Africa summit that began on Thursday in St Petersburg, a day after Bazoum was barricaded into the presidential palace, the coup was being “very actively discussed”, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said. The timing appears to be a coincidence despite images of crowds in Niger’s capital, Niamey, carrying Russian flags while ransacking and setting fire to the party headquarters of the detained president. While there is no sign that Moscow or Wagner had a hand in Bazoum’s ousting, the chaos presents an opportunity in one of the world’s biggest producers of uranium.

The ousted President Bazoum. Analysts say that if he is permanently removed from office, the Wagner group will seek to extend its influence into Niger.

Foreign countries have not announced any plan to intervene in Niger but Tchiani warned against any attempts to extract Bazoum, who was elected in 2021 in the country’s first peaceful and democratic transition since 1960 and is being held with his family. Tchiani said a foreign military intervention would result in “the massacre of the Niger population and chaos”.

Justifying his actions, which have drawn the threat of sanctions from the EU and France, Tchiani said: “We can no longer continue with the same approaches proposed so far, at the risk of witnessing the gradual and inevitable demise of our country. That is why we decided to intervene.”

If the US designates the takeover as a coup — it would be Niger’s fifth — the country stands to lose millions of dollars of military aid. But the West will have to weigh up its response to avoid driving the new junta towards any solutions offered by Wagner.

Prigozhin was pictured on the sidelines of the second Russia-Africa summit, a month after his own failed mutiny and reported exile. His welcoming of the Niger coup differed from Moscow’s response given by Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who joined calls for the release of Bazoum. “We believe that the coup is unconstitutional and we always take a principled and clear position on that,” Lavrov said.

President Ruto of Kenya said in a video message that the coup was a serious setback for Africa. “The aspirations of the people of Niger for constitutional democracy were subverted by an unconstitutional change of government that deposed Mohamed Bazoum, a democratically elected president,” he added.

Speaking in Papua New Guinea, President Macron of France condemned the coup as “completely illegitimate and profoundly dangerous for the Nigeriens, Niger and the whole region”.

Happening now in niger


https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJbJwYUR/

BUHARI how far?

Western lickers won't like it , when we say world is changing and western influence and economy is reducing they will start to speak in tongues.

We have been expecting trouble from the Wagner Group in west Africa for 2 Weeks since Prighozhin said he was moving to Africa

At least we now know who is really behind the Coup in Niger

Prighozhin is biting more than he can chew

Sorry Mr Putin but you cannot use Africa to play Resource Rich Poker anymore

Those days are long gone

Oga oo

“Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It.”

Africans seem to have forgotten what the continent passed through in the hands of military rule. We are now celebrating coup like Christmas.

Even though I am not surprised, who you align with, will always reflect in ones actions. With the recent desperation of China and Russia to win the soul of Africa, its certain that the continent will later be governed by dictators.