WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Russia’s Wagner mercenaries are taking advantage of instability in coup-hit Niger, whose neighbour Mali has become a partner of Moscow.

In an interview with the BBC released on Tuesday, Blinken doubted that Wagner — which in June staged a shadowy rebellion against President Vladimir Putin — plotted the Nigerien military’s July 26 ouster of the elected president, Western ally Mohamed Bazoum.

“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,” Blinken said in the interview, according to the BBC.

“Every single place that this Wagner group has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed,” he said.

Wagner has partnered with African nations including Mali and the Central African Republic, leading to wide accusations of abuses by rights groups and Western governments.

Junta rebuffs latest diplomatic mission as high-stakes summit looms

Military-run Mali has become the rare country to shift toward Russia diplomatically during the Ukraine war, in which Wagner has fought ruthlessly.

High-stakes

Niger’s junta on Tuesday rejected the latest diplomatic mission from West African countries aimed at restoring constitutional order after a July 26 coup, resisting pressure from the United States and the United Nations to come to the negotiating table.

Heads of state from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are preparing for a summit on Thursday to discuss their standoff with the junta, which defied an Aug 6 deadline to reinstate ousted Bazoum.

ECOWAS defence chiefs agreed on Friday on a possible military action plan, which heads of state are expected to consider at their summit in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

The junta denied permission to enter Niger to a joint delegation from ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the UN, according to a letter circulated on social media whose authenticity was confirmed by a Niger army spokesman.

The letter said popular anger among Niger’s citizens over sanctions imposed by ECOWAS in response to the coup made it impossible to host the envoys safely and denounced “a climate of threatened aggression against Niger”.

An AU spokesperson confirmed that a mission had been denied access, while ECOWAS declined to comment.

The junta had already snubbed meetings with a senior US envoy and another ECOWAS delegation.

The UN said Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly supported mediation efforts by ECOWAS, while Blinken told French radio station RFI diplomacy was the best way to resolve the situation.

He declined to comment on the future of some 1,100 US troops in Niger, where French, German and Italian troops are also stationed.

US Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland flew to Niamey on Monday but was denied permission to meet coup leader Abdourahamane Tiani or Bazoum, who is in detention.

She told reporters her talks with more junior officers were “frank and difficult” and they had shown little interest in exploring ways to restore democratic order.

Last week, ECOWAS sent a mission to Niamey led by Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former military ruler of Nigeria, but Tiani also refused to see him.

In contrast, Tiani on Monday met a joint delegation from Mali and Burkina Faso, both neighbouring countries where the military has seized power from civilians. The juntas there have pledged support for the coup in Niger.

“We will not accept military intervention in Niger. Our survival depends on it,” said Abdoulaye Maiga, a spokesman for Mali’s junta, appearing on Niger state television.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2023