Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, said the developments in Niger were of great concern to the US and its allies.
“The US has two drone bases in Niger. They also have about 800 troops, some of whom are understood to be special forces who have been training the Nigerian military,” said Hanna.
“Essentially, Niger is the last US ally left standing in that particular region of the world. Governments in neighbouring Mali [and] Burkina Faso have been toppled in military coups, and both of these countries have expelled the French soldiers who were there and have turned to Russian-backed forces for protection. So this is something that the US knows and has been watching with great concern, and that this could possibly be the next step in what is happening in Niger,” he added.
Niger It's the safe haven surrounded by jihadist radicals, Russian mercenaries and madcap dictators. Can it cling on?
Wagner has established itself in Niger's neighbouring states – in Libya, where it has secured oil assets, and in Mali, where its arrival at the invitation of the military regime led to the withdrawal of French, British and other Western forces.
There are reports that the company is also operating in Burkina Faso, another country French forces have recently left. The president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has claimed that Burkina Faso’s army rulers are paying the mercenaries with rights to a gold mine.
“Wagner is certainly a very real presence in our region,” Mr Bazoum said during a visit to London. “They are in Libya, which continues to be volatile and from where we have had weapons going to the Islamists in other countries ever since the fall of [Muammar] Gaddafi.
“They are in Mali: has Wagner's presence in Mali led to any benefit for Mali? I would say not at all. We have certainly no intention of inviting them into our country. They create problems, [they] don't solve them. We know they have been engaged in disinformation campaigns against us.”
A fake social media post claimed that Mr Bazoum had faced a coup while visiting Mr Macron in Paris; another that the French had armed a group of jihadists who killed 17 members of Niger's armed forces at around the same time. Both of these posts have been traced to the Lakhta project, a troll farm financed by Mr Prigozhin, which has been sanctioned by the US since 2018.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/niger-wagner-group-russian-mercenaries-b2341942.html