Russia has pledged to help military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger acquire arms and training for a planned 5,000-strong force to deploy in the central Sahel region.
The three West African nations are run by military juntas who took over power through coups have established an organization called the Alliance of Sahel States.
The Alliance turned towards Russia, mainly fighters from the Wagner mercenary outfit, for military support after
kicking out French and other Western forces. The triumvirate has also withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West Africa’s main political and economic bloc.
The foreign ministers of the three West African countries travelled to Moscow for meetings beginning last week Thursday with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
The ministers agreed to facilitate acquisition of “major and high-performance military equipment and appropriate training” for the force and Russia is ready “to provide the necessary technical assistance”, according to a statement.
The statement did not give further details.
The three countries’ armies seriously need the military support to fight a jihadist insurgency that has spread across the region south of the Sahara since it first took root in Mali in 2012.
The largely rural insurgency has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions.
Meanwhile, Mali has accused neighbouring Algeria of shooting down one of its surveillance drones near their shared border in a statement read out by the security. It has therefore recalled her ambassador to Algeria.
-BY REUTERS