Niger is increasingly turning away from Europe and the USA. In contrast, the military government in Niamey is expanding its relations with Russia. Apparently Moscow was now sending trainers and military material.
Russia has sent an anti-aircraft system and 100 military trainers to Niger, West Africa. Military personnel from the Russian Defense Ministry should install the system and train Nigerien soldiers in how to use it, Nigerien state broadcaster RTN reported. This was preceded by a phone call between junta leader Abdourahamane Tiani and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of March.
Until the military coup last July, Niger was the last democratic ally of European states and the USA in the strategically important Sahel region in West Africa, where Islamist terrorist groups are spreading. In March, the junta ended its military cooperation with the USA in the fight against terrorism. The Bundeswehr operates an air transport base in Niamey, the future of which is still unclear.
Discussions about collaboration in security area
State television showed images of an Ilyushin 76 plane landing at Niamey airport. “We are here to train the army of Niger using the military equipment that has arrived here,” a hooded man in a military uniform said to the camera in accented French.
Niger has embarked on a new path since the military seized power on July 26, leading to the diversification of its partners to assert its sovereignty to the world, the post continued. Putin and Tiani discussed “strengthening cross-sectoral and comprehensive strategic cooperation between Niger and Russia to address current threats, especially in the security area.”
The neighbors are also turning to Russia
Like its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger is turning away from Western partners, especially former colonial power France, and towards Russia. All three countries have been ruled by the military since coups.
In Mali, Russian military personnel who came to the country as mercenaries from the Wagner Group in 2021 and are also officially referred to as trainers are fighting alongside the army against insurgents. The former mercenaries are now subordinate to the “Africa Corps” of the Russian Defense Ministry.
The first 100 Russian military personnel landed in Burkina Faso in January, with 200 more to follow. The three states have joined forces in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and are pursuing an ever closer common foreign and security policy.