Niger coup makes the troubled Sahel region yet more fragile

From Mali successful the westbound to Sudan successful the east, a full swathe of Africa is present tally by the military.

Niger was 1 of the fewer democracies near successful the Sahel loop which stretches crossed the continent. But present that the service has seized power, determination are concerns implicit what this means for the troubled region.

Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum - a cardinal Western state successful the combat against Islamist militants - was defiant aft soldiers announced a coup connected Wednesday.

But helium has been detained, the service main has backed subject rule, and it isn't wide who is truly successful charge.

Former assemblage powerfulness France and the US person subject bases successful the uranium-rich country, and some were speedy to condemn the coup.

There are concerns that Niger's caller enactment could determination distant from its Western allies and person to Russia.

If it does, it would travel the way of 2 of its neighbours - Burkina Faso and Mali - which person some pivoted towards Moscow since caller subject coups of their own.

They had been nether aggravated unit from Islamist groups which operated freely crossed overmuch of some countries.

But though Niger had been battling its ain jihadist insurgency and agrarian banditry, it had appeared comparatively much unchangeable than its neighbours.

But the jihadist menace was the large crushed wherefore the subject seized power, arguing that they request to combat against the insurgencies.

Col Maj Amadou Abdramane, who spoke connected behalf of the junta, cited the "deterioration of the information situation" and mediocre socio-economic concern arsenic the reasons for the takeover.

His connection could easy person been made by the coup leaders successful either of Niger's neighbours, contempt the precise antithetic concern connected the ground.

But contempt the coups successful some those countries, and the beingness of a reported 1,000 heavy equipped mercenaries from Russia's Wagner radical successful Mali, deaths from jihadist attacks person really risen since the subject takeovers.

There person besides been well-documented cases of quality rights abuses, including the sidesplitting of hundreds of civilians successful Mali by the information forces and overseas fighters.

President Mohamed Bazoum's authorities has besides been a spouse to European countries trying to halt the travel of migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea, agreeing to instrumentality backmost hundreds of migrants from detention centres successful Libya.

He has besides cracked down connected quality traffickers successful what had been a cardinal transit constituent betwixt different countries successful West Africa and those further north.

That whitethorn present beryllium called into question.

And if Western and UN troops are asked to permission Niger - arsenic they person been successful Mali and Burkina Faso - it would beryllium a large stroke to the combat against Islamic insurgents, who are apt to determination rapidly to instrumentality vantage of immoderate instability successful the country.

Pro-Kremlin commentators person been heard connected state-run media and Telegram groups describing the coup arsenic a pathway for Russia's introduction into Niger.

However, a Kremlin spokesperson has called for Mr Bazoum's merchandise and for a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Despite the beingness of immoderate supporters of the coup waving a Russian emblem and condemning France, the erstwhile assemblage power, determination is nary grounds of immoderate Russian engagement successful the subject takeover.

So we are waiting to perceive what the junta leaders accidental astir the country's aboriginal strategical alignment - whether it maintains its ties with the West, oregon joins its neighbours successful embracing a caller Russian sphere of power successful Africa.

This latest seizure of powerfulness besides raises questions astir whether the dilatory beforehand of ideology seen crossed Africa successful caller decades is present nether threat.

Even arsenic West Africa's determination economical bloc Ecowas seeks to broker a peaceful solution, the stableness of the portion is much fragile than it has been for immoderate time.