The Secretary of State of the USA, Antony Blinken, has assured that though he doesn’t imagine that Russia or the Wagner Group have instigated the army coup in Niger, he does imagine that they’re “taking benefit” of the present state of affairs of instability.
“I feel that what occurred, and what continues to occur in Niger, was not instigated by Russia or Wagner, however they’ve tried to make the most of it. In every single place the Wagner Group is there may be loss of life, destruction and exploitation. The insecurity It has gone up, not down,” he mentioned in statements to the BBC.
On this sense, he believes that the present state of affairs in Niger is just like that of different neighboring nations, comparable to Mali – which does have a Wagner presence – “the place they’ve left nothing however unhealthy issues of their wake.”
After the coup d’etat by the Nigerian army on July 26, the Financial Group of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened a doable army intervention if the deposed president Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated in workplace inside seven days.
These threats had been responded to by Mali and Burkina Faso –additionally led by their respective army juntas– who supplied their army help to Niger within the occasion of ECOWAS intervention. On the similar time, and because the deadline expired, suspicions grew that they might even have requested the assistance of the Wagner Group.
The army junta led by Abdourahamane Tchiani blames Bazoum for the financial disaster, partly for persevering with to bow to the pursuits of a France that continues to learn from the nation’s pure sources, primarily lithium and uranium, in addition to for not doing sufficient to fight Jihadist terrorism.
