Russian instructors arrived on Wednesday April 10 in Niger, which also received its first delivery of Russian military equipment as part of the new security cooperation between the two countries, Nigerien public television announced Thursday evening.
” We helped (…) on the arrival in Niamey of an Iliouchine-76, a Russian wide-body aircraft, carrying the latest generation of military equipment with instructors from the Russian Ministry of Defense on board.announced public television Télé Sahel.
The Russian Federation will “to endow” Niger and “install an anti-aircraft defense system” able “to ensure total control of the airspace” of the country, said television, showing images filmed at night of the Russian wide-body aircraft as it landed at the airport of the Nigerien capital.
The Russian military instructors, whose number was not specified, “will ensure quality training” to Nigerien soldiers “for efficient use of said system”said Télé Sahel. “We are here to train the Niger army and help it use the military equipment that has just arrived. This is equipment of different military specialtiesdeclared one of the Russian instructors on this television. We are here to develop military cooperation between Russia and Niger. »
Strengthening cooperation between the two countries
On March 26, the head of the military regime in Niger, General Abdourahamane Tiani, spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, to discuss in particular the ” reinforcement “ of security cooperation between Niamey and Moscow, said an official Nigerien press release. “The two heads of state” had “exchanged on the need to (there) strengthen to face current threats »continued the press release, while jihadist attacks undermine the Sahel.
In mid-March, Niger denounced ” immediate effect “ the country’s military cooperation agreement with the United States, calling into question the presence of just over 1,000 American soldiers on Nigerien territory.
Niger, like neighboring Burkina and Mali, has been facing recurring and deadly jihadist violence for years, perpetrated by groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization.
In these three countries, civilian governments have been overthrown by successive military coups since 2020. Since then, these three former French colonies have turned their backs on Paris and have moved closer economically and militarily to new partners, including Russia, before coming together within the Alliance of Sahel States with the aim of creating a federation.
In mid-January, Russia had already announced that it had agreed to“intensify” its military cooperation with Niger. A Russian delegation went to Niamey in December 2023 to discuss with the military. Agreements on strengthening military cooperation were then signed.
