(Bloomberg) -- Niger’s military junta joined Mali in severing diplomatic ties with Ukraine over the Eastern European nation’s alleged support for a Malian rebel group.
The largely symbolic move came two days after Mali took a similar step, and comes as anti-Western sentiment has swept Africa’s Sahel region in recent years. That announcement was in response to a Ukraine military intelligence spokesman saying his country assisted an attack by rebels last month in which scores of Malian soldiers and Russian-backed mercenaries were killed.
Niger acted in solidarity with Mali by cutting ties with Ukraine with “immediate effect,” junta spokesman Amadou Abdramane said in an address broadcast in the capital, Niamey, on Tuesday. Ukraine’s alleged support for the rebels “threatens the stability of the African continent and risks exacerbating the suffering of civilians,” he said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The military rulers who overthrew democratically-elected governments in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have all independently cut military ties with France and the US — which have suspended foreign aid to the countries — since 2022 and moved closer to Russia. Moscow, which has boosted its influence in West Africa’s Sahel region through the Kremlin-backed mercenary Wagner Group, is seeking to take over uranium assets in Niger held by a state-controlled French company.
--With assistance from Donato Paolo Mancini and Daryna Krasnolutska.
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