Niger’s military government sides with Russia in the latest sign of Moscow’s growing influence in Africa.
A Nigerien official explains to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the jihadist crisis facing Niger and the surrounding region in March 2023.
Boureima Hama/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
The disintegration of the United States’ relationship with Niger following its military coup in 2023 is giving way to stronger ties between the African country and Russia and China.
Never before have four governments, including one of the regional leaders, Senegal, been simultaneously eager and ready to get out of the neo-colonial stranglehold of the CFA franc.
A US military drone at the Barkhane French military base, Niamey on 22 December 2019.
Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Niger is cutting military ties with the US. This has implications for security in the Sahel region.
Protesters barricade a street in reaction to postponement of the presidential election in Dakar, Senegal on 9 February.
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Amy Niang, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa
Attempts to postpone Senegal’s election indefinitely reflect deeper governance problems within Macky Sall’s administration, and the shortcomings of his chosen heir, Amadou Ba.
An anti-colonial demonstration against the CFA franc in Dakar, September 2017.
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The decision by the three countries could change the dynamics of Ecowas.
Protesters in Niger’s capital Niamey hold a Russian flag and banner with images of coup leaders in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea.
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The Sahara Desert is green and vegetated every 21,000 years. A climate model shows why.
A group of soldiers from the Niger gendarmerie at the gendarmerie school on 11 January 2023 in Niamey, Niger.
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Moda Dieng, Université Saint-Paul / Saint Paul University e Philippe M. Frowd, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Ecowas’ threats to intervene militarily in Niger played a role in the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States, whose members have pledged to assist each other in the event of aggression.
Supporters of Niger’s coup leaders wave Niger’s flag (R) and a flag bearing Wagner’s logo during a protest on 16 September 2023.
AFP via Getty Images
France’s withdrawal from Niger could hurt the regional fight against terrorism, create an opportunity for Wagner’s influence and increase Europe’s migrant crisis.
Almost half of all sixth-grade students in Niger struggle to read a simple sentence.
Olympia De Maismont/AFP