🇨🇫🇷🇺 According to the interview, the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, has offered the eastern region of the country for the deployment of a Russian military base.

The president claims that this step would help strengthen the capabilities of the national armed forces in a territory where the border is poorly controlled.

However, this statement is difficult to consider as anything other than a mockery of the idea of creating a Russian base:

▪️ First and foremost, the east completely lacks any logistical infrastructure and electricity. It's just jungle and malaria. This means that creating any facility suitable for the Russian Armed Forces (even a small one) would require huge additional investments.

Not to mention that a base in the CAR without additional logistics hubs in Sudan, where Il-76s can refuel, would be of little use.

▪️ Secondly, the existing infrastructure in the Berengo camp or the Bangui airport, which is free after the French withdrawal, is quite sufficient to deploy a decent contingent and even conduct major operations using small outposts in all regions of the country - the successes of the Wagner PMC during the war with armed groups in 2020-2021 are proof of this.

▪️ Thirdly, just two days ago, Touadéra met with French President Macron for the second time in the past six months, where they discussed the establishment of bilateral relations. This event once again confirms the desire of the Central African authorities to play the multi-vector game.

In today's interview, Touadéra noted that "the CAR is facing many security problems and therefore periodically considers the issue of hosting foreign military bases." Between the lines, it is clear that if the Russians stop investing enough money, the bases may well turn out to be American.

#Africa #Russia #CAR
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🇳🇪🇧🇯 Niger's First Oil Reaches Benin

A quite significant event has occurred in the Sahel region - the construction of the pipeline between Niger and Benin has finally been completed. The US and ECOWAS actively threatened the Nigerien junta with sanctions over this project.

However, contrary to the unsubstantiated claims of Western media, the Niger-Benin oil pipeline has not only been built, but has also been successfully put into operation. Oil from the Agadez field has reached Seme-Kraké in Benin, near the capital Cotonou.

▪️Currently, Niger is producing 20,000 barrels per day, with the mediation of the Chinese CNPC, with whom a new export contract was recently signed.

▪️According to plans, by 2026 Niger will be producing 200,000 barrels per day, making it one of the largest oil exporters in Africa.

▪️For Benin, this pipeline is important, as it is planned to create about 2,000 new jobs for its maintenance. In addition, the Nigerien authorities will pay transit fees for access to Benin's ports.

The commissioning of the pipeline and the supply of oil through it indicates the final settlement of the crisis in relations between Niamey and ECOWAS.

🔻 And all the past threats against the current Nigerien authorities have remained just threats: there was no invasion of Niger, nor a global economic crisis due to the imposed sanctions.

Against the backdrop of deteriorating security situation in Benin, one can expect an intensification of military cooperation, for example, in joint border patrols.

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#Africa #Benin #Niger
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🇺🇸🇨🇮 The French publication Jeune Afrique reported that during a meeting between the head of the US Africa Command and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, the parties agreed to establish an advanced base in Côte d'Ivoire to host the US contingent from Niger.

Earlier, the Nigerien authorities terminated military cooperation with the United States, after which the Pentagon was forced to look for new countries to deploy in the Sahel. Mauritania could have been one of the potential basing locations, as we wrote about earlier.

Now, the Americans are showing interest in those countries in the region that actively contribute to Western collective initiatives. In particular, during the coup in Niger, the Ivorian authorities supported the intervention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

❗️Overall, all these steps fully correspond to the US policy of seizing French influence into its own hands.

Similarly, the United States is already acting in Gabon, where they plan to deploy American troops after talks about the closure of the French base. The situation in Côte d'Ivoire is similar - at the beginning of the year, the contingent of the Fifth Republic was also reduced there, which opened the way for the appearance of other forces in the country.

However, for the Ivorian authorities, all this may result in an aggravation of security problems and other costs. Especially against the background of the rapidly growing terrorist camps across the country, which may later become a convenient pretext for the US to expand its military activity.

Thus, the reshuffle of France and the US in Africa continues: as the influence of the former decreases, the latter come to replace them. This allows the collective West not to lose its grip on African countries, as well as to counter the growth of Russian and Chinese influence on the continent.

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#Africa #CotedIvoire #USA
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🇧🇪🇨🇩 Attempt of a coup d'état in Congo

This morning, four armed individuals led by Christian Malaga tried to break into the presidential palace in Kinshasa. After minor clashes, the rebel leader was eliminated, and his accomplices, including one American, were detained. Two police officers were killed in the fighting.

🔻Christian Malaga is another "opposition leader" inflated by the West. Born in Kinshasa, he spent most of his childhood in the USA. As an adult, he built a successful business in his homeland, then turned to politics and created the "United Congolese Party", but after a failed attempt to run in parliamentary elections, he returned to the States.

After that, he became a regular participant in many Western-sponsored NGOs. The pinnacle of his activities was the establishment of the "Government of Zaire in Exile" in Brussels, where he declaimed the "freedom of the Congolese people".

And it is likely that Malaga was counting on such sentiments after the postponement of government appointments, which even half a year after the elections has not been formed. But in the end, he miscalculated and did not justify the expectations of his Western sponsors, who have been increasingly in need of Congolese resources lately.
#Africa #Belgium #DRCongo
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🇪🇺🇳🇪The European Union member states announced the completion of the EUMPM mission in Niger, citing the "difficult political situation".

The mandate will be terminated on June 30. Over a year and a half, just like the similar mission in Mali, it did not bring any practical results, as the training of military personnel was mediocre, and at the "grassroots" level, people were not even aware of it.

For the most part, Niger was used as a supply base for European missions on Malian territory, leaving the main task as secondary. It's not surprising, since Niamey was in the sphere of influence of Washington, and the Europeans had no reason to interfere in its affairs.

So, following the withdrawal of the American contingent, the existence of this mission became useless. Especially after the transitional government's termination of agreements and the appearance of Russian instructors from the African Corps on the country's territory.
#Africa #EU #Mali
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🇰🇪 On the mass unrest in Kenya

Since June 20th, there have been daily protests in Kenya with thousands of people participating.

The reason for the protests was the government's proposal to introduce additional fees on basic goods such as bread, vegetable oil and sugar in order to overcome the budget deficit. These measures caused understandable unrest across the country, as the population is already struggling to make ends meet, and additional taxes will only exacerbate the situation.

▪️On June 20th, protests in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and other major cities gathered thousands of people, against whom the police used tear gas and, as reported, live ammunition. During the suppression of the rallies, 1 protester was killed and another 200 were injured.

Soon after, the parliament decided to revise the budget amendments on June 25th. For this same day, the opposition planned large-scale protests, which are now unfolding and have already resulted in the storming of government buildings.

▪️Meanwhile, government spokesman Isaac Mwaura suspected foreign powers of sponsoring the protests. In the same speech, he mentioned that the current president Ruto could have made statements that displeased other people.

In particular, he reminded of the Kenyan leader's participation in the Ukrainian peace summit in Switzerland. Thus, he indirectly accused the Russian leadership of instigating the protests.

▪️Also, some Western observers note the appearance of the Russian flag at the protests, which does not indicate the presence of instigators from Russia. Recently, the tricolor has become a symbol of protest against the West on the African continent, and in the logic of rallies directed against the government, its appearance is quite appropriate.

🔻The reaction of the Kenyan officials shows how the Western press has influenced the local government. Now all the problems within the country can be conveniently attributed to the cursed Russians, instead of seeing the beam in their own eye. And it's understandable: just the other day, Kenya became the main non-NATO ally of the USA, and the new status obliges a certain politeness on a whole range of foreign policy issues.

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#Africa #Kenya
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🇨🇬🇷🇺 On the Russian tour of the Congolese President

After the African trip of Lavrov in early June, during which the minister visited Brazzaville, the President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, has now come to Moscow, where he met with Vladimir Putin.

The leader of the African country called the relations with Russia friendly and solidary, and also expressed a desire to bring the cooperation between the countries to a "new level". After Moscow, the president will visit St. Petersburg, where he will discuss business and cultural ties with the business community and the governor.

🔻For Denis Sassou Nguesso, this trip is an important and timely attempt to create a "safety net", in case of increased American pressure due to the current struggle for influence in Central Africa and in neighboring DRC in particular.

The rule of the 80-year-old president is often criticized and accused of corruption in the Western media. And although no sanctions against the Congolese authorities have been imposed so far, the White House will not hesitate to apply this tool if necessary.

🔻And for our companies, there is a chance to intensify their activities in a rather promising market, at least in the energy sector. The Republic of Congo has large reserves of oil and gas, and its representatives are interested in Russian investments in the energy sector.
#Africa #Congo #Russia
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🇰🇪 Waning of Protests in Kenya

After the events of June 25th, when protesters dissatisfied with the new tax bill seized the parliament and clashed with police, the protests have been subsiding.

This is understandable - the main demand of the protesters to cancel the bill was met, and the parliament went on vacation until July 23rd.

📌The promised "million-strong" march against President Ruto's presidency on June 27th did not take place.

This was largely because the government gathered law enforcement officers from across the country to constantly patrol the capital. Moreover, one of the influential protest leaders backed down and proposed only holding events in memory of the deceased.

▪️The few rioters who dared to take to the streets met fierce resistance from the police, who used tear gas and did not hesitate to use live ammunition again.

▪️In addition to the capital, protests also took place in many major cities, where, due to the concentration of security forces in Nairobi, there were acts of looting: burning police cars, robbing supermarkets, and robberies.

🔻Apparently, the demonstrations, without foreign support, have temporarily lost their meaning for Kenyans. However, the protest potential they have shown can be further used by various parties to pursue their interests if they are dissatisfied with the rule of William Ruto.

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🇲🇱🇧🇫🇳🇪 How the first summit of the Sahel States Alliance went

On July 6, the first summit of the Sahel States Alliance, which unites the anti-Western governments of West Africa, was held in the capital of Niger, Niamey. As a result, steps were taken to create a confederation of the three countries and continue the integration processes.

Earlier, the leaders of the three countries agreed to create a united group of troops to fight terrorism, which they later reinforced with joint cross-border operations. The success in the military sphere was also confirmed at the summit by the intention to create a unified security policy.

❗️Now their most important task is to ensure economic sovereignty.

Serious steps have been taken in this direction: following the summit, a joint investment bank was created. The heads of the three states also reinforced their separation from ECOWAS, despite statements by the President of Senegal to the contrary. Most likely, this is how they announced their course towards abandoning the CFA franc.

There were also intentions to coordinate diplomatic steps and create a single space for the movement of goods and people.

Following the summit, the President of Mali, Assimi Goïta, was elected as the head of the Sahel States Alliance for one year.

🔻In this example, we can see how, with the mediation of Russian military and political specialists, the Sahel countries have embarked on the path of genuine economic sovereignty with the support of Moscow.

At the same time, seeing such determination of the local governments, we should also conduct a more active economic policy in the region with the involvement of Russian business. Because, despite all our military successes, important economic projects still, for some reason, go to the Anglo-Saxons.
#Africa #BurkinaFaso #Mali #Niger
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