Simon Rynn News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

US ‘touched a nerve’ in security dealings with Niger, opening door to ‘transactional’ Russia as Sahel violence spirals.

The support for military takeovers is growing across Africa, and civilian governments are to blame, say analysts.

According to Simon Rynn, a​ senior research fellow on African security at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, “There are so many factors pushing in [the] direction” of more coups in the region. “So many countries have had contested elections or have third-term presidents clinging to power, or have high insecurity or a stagnant economy,” Rynn told Al Jazeera. “We don’t know where might be affected by coup plotting next, but places like Cameroon, Togo, Senegal, Benin are all struggling in various ways.”

In August, when a group of Gabonese military officers deposed President Ali Bongo, whose family had ruled the country for nearly six decades, many ordinary citizens came out on the streets to celebrate. When Bongo put out a call for the international community to “make noise” against the coup, it quickly turned into a meme mocking |

EXCLUSIVE: The Wagner Group boss appears to have returned to his role in Africa as the man who props up unstable governments, an expert has said, just weeks after his failed mutiny.