Nigerien Coup Update: Russian Machinations in the War on Terrorism Front

I had posted a week ago about the coup in Niger, in which a military junta has seized power from the elected government. Niger, like two other States in the Sahel, Mali and Burkina Faso, has been battling Islamist terrorists, namely, al-Qaeda and its offshoot, the Islamic State, as the region has become a major front in the War on Terrorism. In all three, there were coups by military officers claiming dissatisfaction with their government’s effectiveness against the jihadist insurgencies. Mali and Burkina Faso turned to Kremlin-backed Russian mercenaries, instead of the Western-led support they had been receiving. The mercenaries, who are also present in Libya, the Central African Republic, Syria and Ukraine, commit human rights violations. Although the Russian Federation is calling for a restoration of the elected President, it opposes the use of force by foreigners to restore the elected government. The Nigerien President, who is being held captive by the military junta that seized power last week, has called on the United States and others to help restore him to power, lest the entire Sahel region fall into the hands of Russia, as the coup leaders are expected to spurn U.S. and Western aid and turn to the Russian mercenaries. The U.S. and the European Union oppose the coup and are threatening to cut off aid to Niger. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Niger is a member, has already imposed sanctions and called for the restoration of the elected government of Niger and is threatening to use force to oust the junta. ECOWAS has intervened several times in West Africa after coups or civil wars. Former colonial power France opposes the coup, but politically cannot lead any force that would be labeled by coup supporters as imperialist. The U.S. and the European Union do not intend to act militarily, but prefer ECOWAS to take the lead.