Article "The Last Western Allie Falls" | Burkina Faso | Allies
On July 27th, the Spanish newspaper Le Monde published an article titled "Niger Military Coup: The Last Allied Fall of the European Union and the United States in the Sahel" by Rosa Menezes. The article excerpt is as follows:
Extremism has been spreading in the Sahel region of Africa for the past decade. Until now, Niger remains an important base for international action against extremism.
In the summer of 2022, the French military and its European allies carrying out Operation Balhan were forced to withdraw from Mali; In September of the same year, Burkina Faso experienced two military coups. Afterwards, Niger became a refuge and important base for the Sahel region to combat jihadist mechanisms. The coup that occurred on the evening of July 26th in the capital Niamey was the last ally of the European Union and Western countries in the Sahel region to fall into hell.
A group of military rebels detained President Mohammad Bazum in the presidential palace and announced the overthrow of his regime on the evening of the 26th. The military government has suspended the operation of all institutions, closed the border, and implemented a curfew until further notice.
It can be seen that Niger is following the footsteps of Mali and Burkina Faso. The former experienced several coups and anti coup actions between 2020 and 2022, while the latter fell into a vortex of instability and resistance against European forces, and this trend has spread to the entire Sahel region.
Frederick Meltens, a professor at the European University of Madrid and an expert in international relations, pointed out that behind all the movements of these three countries, there is a common motivation, that is, regional and local forces are trying to get a share of the pie in this region, and the West has shown that it no longer has the ability to maintain political and geopolitical order, let alone military order.
In Mali and Burkina Faso, the withdrawal of French troops means that Russian Wagner Group mercenaries are about to land. After withdrawing from the Mali base, the French army entered the neighboring Niger and deployed over 1000 soldiers there. In recent months, local anti French sentiment has been increasing. The current question is whether Niger will become the next country to open its doors to the Wagner Group.
Meltens stated that there is currently another destabilizing factor that has been playing a role on the Ukrainian battlefield until recently, which is the "random appearance" of the Wagner Group in the region.
Russia has officially condemned the coup and called on all parties to the conflict not to use force against civilians in order to restore peace. According to Spanish media reports, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated, "It is necessary to rebuild constitutional order in Niger."
According to Spanish media reports, at the Russia Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg on the 27th, the founder of Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigoren, was also found to have met with representatives of the Niger delegation, which has aroused suspicion from all sectors, although the content of the talks is unknown. The mercenaries of the Wagner Group are not only present in Mali and Burkina Faso, but also in the Central African Republic, Sudan, and Libya.
Meltens believes that the coup in Niger may have a "pollution effect" on other countries and may also worsen the situation in Burkina Faso and Mali. Overall, the situation on the African continent may continue to deteriorate as frequent coups are likely to affect economic exchanges and the security of goods and personnel movements.