NIAMEY — Russia’s Africa Corps helped Nigerien loyalist forces regain control of Air Base 101 at Diori Hamani International Airport after mutinous soldiers seized the strategic site last Saturday, the BBC reported, citing fighting overnight in the capital and public comments by Russia’s ambassador.
Ambassador Viktor Voropaev said Russian forces had helped “repress a mutiny.” Africa Corps, under Moscow’s defence ministry and estimated at roughly 200 to 300 personnel in Niger, also played a role in repelling a January attack at the same airport. Analysts told the BBC the episode shows Africa Corps protecting junta governments in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso beyond its stated counter-jihadist mission.
Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani’s junta seized power in July 2023 citing insecurity; al-Qaeda- and Islamic State-linked militants continue attacks in Tillabéri and Dosso. A Nigerien army captain on state television accused France and Chad of backing last weekend’s unrest; France has rejected such claims. Russia’s foreign ministry described the mutineers as extremists “seemingly incited by European former colonial powers.”
Sources: BBC.
