The government of Niger stated that there was an attempted coup d'état last Saturday (29), carried out by a group of military personnel. According to the official statement broadcast on public television, the coup leaders fired at strategic points in Niamey and attempted to kidnap military personnel from Base 101.
The base houses the Russian partners' headquarters in the country and is also the seat of the Joint Staff of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), formed by Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. The incident occurs in a region marked by power struggles and the growing Russian presence.
In April of this year, there was acoup attemptin Mali, with attacks promoted by jihadists and, according to information at the time, funded by France. Earlier in the year, it was theanti-colonial government of Burkina Fasothat came under attack.
Geopolitical analyst Hugo Albuquerque explains that the current government of Niger is formed from a military alliance with popular sectors that overthrew an elected government by a minority. "The type of democracy that existed was something like the Old Republic in Brazil," he compares the expert, highlighting that it was a democracy of the few. "It was about one-fifth of Niger's population. Most did not have electricity. And when we say they didn't have electricity, it's about not having hospitals, not having water, living in a precarious situation, while France exploited them colonially, mainly for Niger's uranium," he reports, emphasizing the population's pauperization and exploitation.
Albuquerque states that, currently, the government of Niger is dealing with insurgents from Al-Qaeda and Salafism, an ultra-conservative movement within Sunni Islam, supported by "petromonarchies" from the West. In this sense, the Russian action to contain the coup attempt was fundamental. In addition to the Russians, Algeria, located to the north of Niger, also offered aerial support to the country.
"Russia maintains a very important operation in Algeria, and four Sukhois were mobilized, according to the reports we have. That means a military coup would have failed because it would not have had aerial force. So, the troops on the ground would have been bombed, and also because of the reaction of these Russian elite troops, which are the Africa Corps. But the Algerian Air Force's participation was fundamental," he emphasizes. In addition to Russia and Algeria, Qatar also strongly condemned the coup attempt. "Those who stay on the fence are in favor of the coup," Hugo Albuquerque stresses.
International politics reporter forBdF,André Lucena, explains that the Africa Corps is a way for Russia to act militarily and in cooperation in the Sahel region, maintaining hundreds of fighters in the area. However, the journalist highlights that the Africa Corps' actions cannot be interpreted solely as purely military support. "We have very important border issues, especially in logistics at the border with Algeria, and the Africa Corps provides that support for passage, whether it's trucks, other vehicles for transit, or food, or basic items. So, it's an operational aid directly provided by Russia," he says.
Albuquerque assesses that, in a more general context, there are vulnerabilities in the Sahel region, although he downplays the alleged coup attempt. "They carried out an attack. We don't know if these young officers, if they were to carry out an assassination, would be able to establish a government," he questions.
For him, Burkina Faso is the only country that has actually been delivering results and, as such, has the popular support to sustain itself. "It is still very difficult to understand what is happening in Mali and Niger and the ability of these governments to reduce this radical colonial exploitation by the West and deliver something to their people. And these are some of the poorest countries in the world. They are not poor because they are poor. They are not at all poor in natural resources. It's the type of exploitation that operates there and has been tolerated," he points out.
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