WASHINGTON – The US is attempting to prevent Russia from gaining a big new victory in coup-torn Niger, betting that long-standing military connections will keep the country in the Western orbit despite initial disappointment.
Since the military takeover of neighboring Mali, which has shown the door to Western soldiers and welcomed Russia’s vicious Wagner mercenary army, Niger has been the core of US and French anti-militant operations in the Sahel.
On a surprise visit to Niamey on Monday, acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland acknowledged little progress in reversing the July 26 coup, but said military commanders “understand very well the risks to their sovereignty when Wagner is invited in.”
She stated that her principal interlocutor, Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, the recently appointed military chief of staff, has worked closely with US Special Forces and that she went into detail on “aspects of our cooperation that he has historically cared about a lot.”
“So we are hopeful that that will sink in,” she said.
Just months before, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the highest-ranking US official visit to Niger.
He praised the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, who was a special guest at President Joe Biden’s democracy and Africa summits.
Source: AFP