Niger coup supporters march in capital waving Russian flags

Putin is looking to expand Russia’s influence in the region

Thousands of supporters of the junta that took over Niger in a coup earlier this week marched through the streets of the capital, Niamey, on Sunday waving Russian flags, chanting the name of the Russian president and forcefully denouncing former colonial power France.

Russian mercenary group Wagner is already operating in neighboring Mali, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to expand his country’s influence in the region, but it is unclear yet whether the new junta leaders are going to move toward Moscow or stick with Niger’s Western partners.

Days after after mutinous soldiers ousted Niger’s democratically elected president, uncertainty is mounting about the country’s future and some are calling out the junta’s reasons for seizing control.

The mutineers said they overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected two years ago in Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France, because he wasn’t able to secure the nation from growing jihadi violence. But some analysts and Nigeriens say that’s just a pretext for a takeover that is more about internal power struggles than securing the nation.

While Niger’s security situation is dire, it’s not as bad as neighboring Burkina Faso or Mali, which have also have been battling an Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Until now, the country has been seen as the last reliable partner for the West in efforts to battle the jihadists in Africa’s Sahel region.

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