How Wagner is offering cowl for Putin in crisis-hit Niger

The spectacle of Russian flags waved by coup-supporters at Sunday’s rally in Niamey, Niger, reveals simply how a lot Russia’s effort to pitch itself as an anti-colonial flag bearer resonates.

The actuality although is that it’s completely disingenuous.

Russia’s conflict in Ukraine is a blatantly imperialist enterprise, nonetheless Putin tries to promote it to African leaders who’ve, by and enormous, stayed impartial on the invasion.

Wagner’s actions throughout many African nations, particularly in Mali, Sudan and the Central African Republic, bear all types of similarities with the very worst of colonial excesses – mineral extraction, mass atrocities and safety for politically unsavoury regimes on the expense of their populations.

There is not any direct proof that Wagner had a hand within the Niger state of affairs.

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s feedback in relation to the coup appear intentionally ambiguous.

“Thousands of Wagner fighters are capable of bringing order, of destroying terrorists and of not allowing them to harm the local populations of these states,” he stated in a voice message on Telegram, whereas hobnobbing with African leaders in St Petersburg.

That suggests Wagner can be greater than keen to assist, however is not essentially now.

Russia’s international minister Sergei Lavrov has condemned the coup as unconstitutional.

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The Kremlin is understandably under no circumstances eager on the concept of democratically elected leaders being overthrown both by their individuals or their militaries.

But if Wagner does throw in its companies to Niger’s navy plotters, the Kremlin has the quilt of distance from the group – which Putin somewhat bafflingly declared didn’t even exist a number of weeks in the past – whereas securing a foothold into the politics of one more African state.

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One of Prigozhin’s array of companies throughout the continent has been within the info discipline, manipulating public discourse, particularly round elections.

Think a Russian model of Cambridge Analytica.

Those flags in Niamey testify to simply how profitable Wagner has been in crafting an impression of Russia – and of the Kremlin’s intentions for Africa – which is a really good distance from the reality.