In the early hours after a weekend mutiny at Niamey's strategic Air Base 101, it was not Niger's own forces alone that restored order — it was Russia's Africa Corps. The intervention, acknowledged openly by Moscow's ambassador, illuminates a quiet but consequential shift in how great powers now sustain fragile governments: not by winning wars, but by ensuring that those in power remain there. Across the Sahel, Russia has discovered that regime protection may be a more durable currency than battlefield victory, trading survival guarantees for uranium, gold, and diplomatic loyalty. The arrangeme
Russia's Africa Corps excels at protecting military rulers, not defeating jihadists in Sahel
Counter-insurgency forces have suffered heavy casualties from militant attacks; soldiers face inadequate support and equipment from military government.