The ‘change’ took place last week in the Republic of Niger
Photo: REUTERS
The situation in the former French Africa is getting worse. For three years there has already been a military transfer in the third country of the region. Each time, a scenario: an inefficient government (ostensibly “local and independent”, but in fact, puppets of Paris) leads the country into a crisis; The patriots in the army seize power and, like 50 or 60 years ago, begin to make friends with an alternative pole of power – Moscow. The last such “reversal coup” occurred last week in the Republic of Niger, as a result of which General Abdurahman Chiani (or Tchiani) became the real head of state.
However, if it was possible to withstand the overthrow of the Élysée Palace henchmen in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, then Niger is a real “hoarder of the Fifth Republic”. From here, France imports uranium, the fuel for nuclear power plants that, as advertisers poetically put it, “powers every third light bulb with electricity.” Finally, this 21st largest country in the world is the most important logistics base for French troops, who, although in small numbers, are still stationed in this part of Africa.
In addition, along with the French allies, there are also … Americans. Between 600 and 800 US Army soldiers have been stationed here for 10 years, under the guise of fighting terrorism; however, if you search the Web for information about the activities of this contingent, it turns out that since then the Americans have destroyed … as many as 32 terrorists (this is how many losses of the “barmaley” are documented).
But by 2018, the United States, having spent more than 100 million dollars, built in the city of Agadez -in the geographical center of Niger- the so-called “201 air base”, where its combat planes and drones are located. It is not very clear what the Americans are doing there; rumor has it that “secret CIA prisons” often operate in such places.
Not surprisingly, with the change of government in Niger, the West is considering restoring the status quo…by armed means, overthrowing the new government of Abdurahman Chiani.
There is nothing impossible here: in 1979 (by historical standards, yesterday) three hundred French special forces parachuted into the Central African Republic, Central African Republic, in order to overthrow the local leader Jean Bedel Bokassa, who only wanted to reorient himself from Paris to Moscow. . And nothing, no one imposed sanctions on France for this: “you people, you must understand.”
The wake-up call has already been sounded: on August 1, Paris announced the evacuation of French and EU citizens from Niger. He, in turn, threatened to stop the supply of uranium to Europe.
At the same time, ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African Countries, a representative organization created under the auspices of Paris after the region gained independence) demanded the resignation of the “Nigerian junta.”
However, General Ciani also found allies. Any military intervention [Запада] against Niger will be equivalent to declaring war on Burkina Faso and Mali,” the two countries said. It is worth noting that since the military-patriots came to power in these republics, their cooperation with Moscow has intensified and the leaders of both became honored guests at the recent Russia-Africa forum in St. Petersburg.
So even if France, with the support of the United States, plans a new version of the “democratic landing at CAR-1979”, it will definitely not be an easy ride. The world has changed a lot in the last 10 years, and something else is more likely: a repeat of the withdrawal of French troops from Mali in 2022 and US troops from Afghanistan in 2021, only this time in Niger.
