In the Sahel, armed conflicts are increasingly exacerbating the already chaotic situation. And while the United Nations’ influence in West Africa is shrinking, Russia’s is growing.
“The crisis unfolding in the Sahel may pose a greater challenge to the United Nations than Russia’s war in Ukraine,” says UN observer Richard Gowan of the Crisis Group think tank in New York. Of course, the possibilities of the United Nations in Ukraine are limited. But in the Sahel, the UN has been a big player with peacekeeping troops, preventive missions and humanitarian aid.
African military leaders are increasingly resisting this. In June, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop made it clear to the Security Council: “The Mali government is demanding the immediate withdrawal of Minusma.”
End of the Mali mission and its consequences
The blue helmet mission, which also includes hundreds of German soldiers, has failed and become part of the problem. A few days later, the Security Council decided to end the mission, which was actually supposed to stabilize the government in Mali – against extremist terrorists. By being kicked out, Mali sent a signal to other countries. Possibly also for the putschists in Niger a few weeks later, says Gowan.
He thinks Mali’s action has demonstrated to other military leaders in the region that they can challenge the UN and the West and get away with it.
The Bundeswehr will end its participation in the UN mission Minusma by the end of May 2024 at the latest. However, the putsch in neighboring Niger is making it difficult for the troops to withdraw.
What role does Russia play?
After the military took power in Mali and Burkina Faso, UN blue helmets and soldiers from the former colonial power France are no longer wanted. That’s a trend, says Gowan: “We’ve seen a series of coups in the Sahel, we’ve seen the military moving closer to Moscow.”
As the United Nations’ influence in West Africa shrinks, Russia’s is growing. Mali and Burkina Faso have long oriented themselves towards the Russian “Wagner Group”. The head of the mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, promises to push back the jihadists. In Niger, only 1,000 of his men are needed, he wrote in the messaging service Telegram. In exchange, the mercenary troop receives contracts for the mining of raw materials.
Diplomats see Wagner mercenaries as a danger
Britain’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, James Kariuki, expressed concern to the Security Council about the activities of Wagner mercenaries in the region. Her track record proves that Wagner had no long-term security and could not.
The Wagner mercenaries not only fought in the Ukraine, but have also been deployed in Africa for years.
On the contrary, Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood warned: “We cannot ignore the fact that the Wagner Group is committing human rights crimes and is endangering the protection and safety of civilians, blue helmets and UN personnel.” They also hindered the work of the UN peacekeepers, denounces Wood. The Wagner mercenaries would fail to counter the threat posed by violent extremists – and, more likely, help that threat grow.
UN stand between the chairs
UN diplomats in New York believe it is wrong and also dangerous to blame everything that is happening in the Sahel on Russia. But Russia is taking advantage of the chaotic state of the region. And Moscow’s support consists, among other things, in presenting the United Nations.
The military leaders in West Africa are aware that the Security Council is deeply divided between the two veto powers, Russia and France. That is why he is unable to agree on harsh punitive measures, says Gowan, who has been a UN observer for many years. The UN has a credibility problem in the region because it is clear that its influence there is limited. That doesn’t mean that the UN shouldn’t continue to provide good humanitarian and development aid there to strengthen weak states.
But it is also clear that the military in Mali or Niger will not be particularly impressed.