Russian Troops Help Niger Junta Crush 24-Hour Niamey Mutiny, Leaving Dozens of Soldiers Arrested or Dead
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 30
Russian Troops Help Niger Junta Crush 24-Hour Niamey Mutiny, Leaving Dozens of Soldiers Arrested or Dead
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 30
Summary
Niamey was calm on Sunday after loyalist forces, backed by Russian troops, put down a 24-hour mutiny that threatened Niger’s ruling junta and ended with dozens of soldiers arrested or killed.
Overnight fighting centered on the airport’s Base 101 and the presidential district after mutineers took comrades hostage at the air base and fired on sensitive sites, with gunfire lasting into late Saturday.
Analysts and diplomats said the mutiny was driven by anger over worsening jihadi violence, recent troop losses, poor rations and inadequate equipment among soldiers deployed to the hardest-hit regions.
Russia’s Africa Corps — estimated at 200 to 300 personnel in Niger — provided ground and aerial support after mutineers outnumbered the presidential guard, according to analysts and Russia’s ambassador.
The failed revolt underscored how the insecurity that helped bring Sahel juntas to power is now straining their own armies, even as Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria and Turkey voiced support for Niger’s rulers.