Niger coup attempt: Is Russia proving better at protecting friends than fighting enemies in West Africa? - BBC News

Russian forces were brought in to help defeat jihadists but they also defend the military leadership in Niger.

Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesImage caption, The embrace of Russia by Niger, and other Sahel states, has been seen as a rejection of the post-colonial Western powers

When mutinous soldiers seized a strategic military base in Niger's capital last Saturday, the country's ruling junta turned to a foreign partner it has increasingly relied on since coming to power: Russia.

Following a night of intense fighting in Niamey, Russia's Africa Corps helped Nigerien loyalist forces to regain control of Air Base 101 at Diori Hamani International Airport.

Africa Corps, unlike its predecessor the Wagner Group, is directly under the control of the defence ministry in Moscow. It provides combat support and military training and is thought to have some 200 to 300 men in Niger.

Russia's ambassador to Niger, Viktor Voropaev, publicly acknowledged the weekend intervention, saying his country's forces had helped "repress a mutiny".