Pro-coup protesters in Niger shout 'long live Putin' as new leaders face calls to cede power (CNN)

[Phil01]

Pro-coup protesters in Niger shout ‘long live Putin’ as new leaders face calls to cede power
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/30/africa/niger-french-embassy-protests-intl/index.html

Tense and sometimes violent scenes played out in front of the French Embassy in Niger Sunday as thousands of people who support a military coup voiced anger over France’s influence in its former colony.

Demonstrators shouted shouted support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin despite calls from the Kremlin to release the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

Some protesters tore down a plaque identifying the Embassy, stomped on it and then replaced it with Russian and Nigerien flags. Shouts of “long live Putin,” “long live Russia” and “down with France” could be heard among the crowds.

Nigerien security forces were seen deploying tear gas in an attempt to disperse the protesters. One photograph from the scene showed people trying to start a fire outside the compound.

...

[brush]

1. Boy, US admins over several decades have really screwed up...

in ceding influence on the African continent, the second largest on the planet and with untold natural riches...to Russia, and China.

We've neglected that whole segment of foreign policy, as if the continent doesn't exist.

Nigeriens shouting in the streets "long live Putin."

My God.

It's probably too late to change this, after all, there is our history of enslavement, and then total neglect.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Isn't this one of those Wagner republics? nt

[Phil01]

3. It is, but you can't just leave it at that for an explanation.

There was a power vacuum the Russians exploited but did not cause.

[Wounded Bear]

4. Not disagreeing. The US abandoned Africa by and large...

trump didn't help with his Putin love and destruction of the State Department. Pres Biden is trying to rebuild things, but it's a long process to recover. Too many Americans prefer to sell guns to these regions rather than help them achieve peace.