Russia to beef up military aid to junta-led Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso

Russia to supply arms and military training to joint force of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
Moscow leverages instability in West Africa's Sahel to expand influence and support resentment toward Western intervention.
Kremlin-linked Wagner Group forces deployed to Mali in 2021 and have expanded into Burkina Faso and Niger.

Russia has agreed to supply arms and military training to a newly established joint force formed by Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, Bloomberg reported.

According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow will utilize its existing military instructors in the three West African nations to support the initiative.

Moscow has leveraged instability in West Africa’s Sahel, fueled by military coups and Islamist insurgencies, to expand its influence in the region.

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In 2023, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso strengthened their alliance by signing a mutual defense pact to combat groups linked to both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, which have caused numerous deaths across the region.

“Our specialists can help develop and arm those forces with specific weapons and machinery,” Lavrov said.

Forces from the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group began deploying to Mali in 2021, followed by Burkina Faso and Niger.

Since then, some of these personnel have been replaced by troops from the Africa Corps, as Moscow tightens its grip on Wagner’s business operations in Africa following the death of the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Mali’s Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, hailed Russia as a permanent ally in the nation’s fight against "terrorism."

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The three Sahel states have become increasingly violent since Wagner Group mercenaries arrived and military juntas took control, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit that tracks global political violence.

Reported fatalities across Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso hit a record 7,600 in the first half of 2024, a shocking 190% increase compared to 2021 before all three nations fell under military rule, ACLED reported.