The main part of this that concerns me is that Mali, next door, has significant uranium mines (owned by the French, basically, due to colonialism, which isn’t necessarily justified, but it’s also for non-proliferation reasons). I don’t think France will just let Russia fuck around in Mali and that could cause a real escalation.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The decision comes a month after the west African country’s ruling military junta revoked a security pact with Washington that had allowed American forces on its soil to help fight jihadist terrorism.

US officials had voiced hopes that behind-the-scenes talks could salvage the 12-year-old agreement, which was thrown into jeopardy on 15 March when a junta spokesperson publicly declared the continued US military presence in Niger “illegal”.

The base, one of the main US drone facilities in Africa, has been used in operations against jihadist groups in the Sahel region and was reportedly the launchpad for a series of deadly strikes against Islamic State fighters in Libya in 2019.

Just days after the arrival of Russian military equipment and advisers in the country, thousands of protesters gathered in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, last week to demand the withdrawal of American forces.

US military commanders have warned of the spread of Russian influence in the Sahel, a semi-arid region in the southern Sahara stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, and in other parts of Africa at American expense.

The visit was not a success, with Nigerien figures voicing anger over what they said were unfounded American suspicions of negotiations to allow Iran access to Niger’s uranium resources, potentially enhancing Tehran’s nuclear programme.

The original article contains 520 words, the summary contains 213 words. Saved 59%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

Speaking as a US citizen, why are we, and the EU, letting Russia and China eat our lunch in Africa, economically, politically, and militarily?