Wagner "Taking Advantage" Of Niger Instability, Blinken Charges

After Victoria Nuland's Monday visit to Niger didn't bear much fruit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused Wagner group of seeking to take advantage of the instability in the West African country to spread its and Russia's influence.

"I think what happened, and what continues to happen in Niger was not instigated by Russia or by Wagner, but… they tried to take advantage of it," he told BBC Tuesday.

"Every single place that this Wagner group has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed," Blinken added. "Insecurity has gone up, not down".

As we detailed earlier, Acting Deputy Secretary of State Nuland attempted to warn Niger's junta leaders not to cooperate with Wagner for the same reasons. 

Blinken further stressed that the instability in Niger and the region is a "repeat of what's happened in other countries, where they brought nothing but bad things in their wake."

The comments come after multiple international reports said that Niger's coup leaders are in talks with Wagner, amid fears that a Western-friendly African bloc of neighboring countries (ECOWAS) could intervene militarily to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who is currently under house arrest.

According to a recent CFR briefing, Wagner has an extensive presence across Africa, helping various governments chiefly with security and counter-terrorism operations and training:

The Wagner Group has established operations in several African countries, where many of its operations focus on security issues. It has often provided security services and paramilitary assistance and launched disinformation campaigns for troubled regimes in exchange for resource concessions and diplomatic support. Wagner is most active in the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, Mali, and Sudan, all of which have a tenuous relationship with the West due to colonial legacies and inherent political differences.

Demonstrators in favor of the coup in Niger have of late been frequently seen waving Russian flags, as an indicator of deep anti-Western sentiment.

Alarmingly, while both French and American troops are in the region, Wagner mercenaries are just next door from Niger in Mali. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had positively celebrated the coup and blasted past French and Western colonialism in Africa:

In a long message posted to social media, Prigozhin blamed the situation in Niger on the legacy of colonialism and alleged, without evidence, that Western nations were sponsoring terrorist groups in the country. Niger was once a French colony and, before this week’s putsch, it had been one of the few democracies in the region.

From the West's perspective, looming large in the background is expanding Russian influence in Africa.

But those African leaders who are currently standing with Niger's coup leaders warn of NATO influence instead, remembering the disastrous legacy of US-NATO intervention in Libya in 2011...

There have recently been hyped headlines claiming Putin is eyeing extending his influence to Niger and across West Africa. But the reality also is that US AFRICOM has long had a significant military presence in the form of drone and special operations bases across the continent.