DISINFO: France is provoking a big war in Africa
SUMMARY
France provokes a big regional war in West Africa. After the summit in Abuja, the ECOWAS countries that maintained relations with Paris announced their preparations for military intervention in the crisis of neighboring Niger. Despite the calls of a number of African countries, the Nigeria-led coalition of West African countries, supported by France and the United States, is increasingly inclined to use the ECOWAS grouping against the security forces that have seized power in Niger. For France, the situation in Niger is a serious indicator of its continued influence on the planet.
RESPONSE
No evidence given. Community of West African States (ECOWAS), while favoring the path of dialogue, in mid August gave the green light to an armed intervention against the military, who took power at the end of July in Niger, by activating its "standby force". By 18 August, this "standby force" was not yet activated and the attempts of peaceful mediation continue.
After Mali (2020, 2021) and Burkina Faso (twice in 2022), Niger is the third country in the Sahel to experience a coup in three years. The latter, who have distanced themselves from the former French colonial power in favor of a rapprochement with Russia, have shown their support for Niger. France accepted the coups in Mali and Burkina Faso, without "starting a war".
Pro-Kremlin media use mirror accusations against France in Africa, accusing it of destabilising the region, while Russia's methods themselves destabilise Africa.
In 2019, the Russian ambassador to Guinea turned out to be the only foreign ambassador who said that "the Constitution is neither the Bible nor the Quran, it can be changed" (in order to cancel an upcoming presidential election). During the 2009 coup in Guinea, the junta told a representative of the Rusal enterprise (Russia) "the French colonized us, but you are even worse" (talking about the exploitation of bauxite by Russia, the conditions for local workers continue to get worse and they go strike).
In the Central African Republic, the brutal methods of the Russian "instructors" who fight alongside the Central African army are arousing more and more fear and concern. In 2020, The United Nations Working Group on Mercenaries warned of a long series of serious human rights violations attributed to Wagner group.
The Russian Wagner militia, established in Mali, is not unanimously accepted among the population, where many abuses have been committed. In one village, 470 civilians were killed in 2022 by Wagner group.
A BBC investigation has revealed that at least six candidates were offered money by Russians in the lead up the 2019’s presidential elections in Madagascar. All these actions destabilise Africa, serve material and geopolitical goals of Russia and are covered by the pro-Kremlin narrative portraying Russia as defending Africa from the former colonialists.