West Africa

Samuel Ramani, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank, said Russia is not very credible at counter-terrorism in Africa or more broadly. “What we’ve seen repeatedly is that Russia and the Wagner Group forces are much better at strengthening the hold of authoritarian regimes in power than actually combating rebels and terrorist groups,” Ramani said, citing their limited knowledge of the terrain, strained relationships with low-ranking officers and a rigid command and control structure.

In previous coups Russia has tried to position itself as an accidental beneficiary of regime changes,” Samuel Ramani, an analyst at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute, told the BBC. “This time around Russia is a lot more proactive in support for the coup, and that has led to speculation that Russia has played a co-ordinating role."

"In previous coups Russia has tried to position itself as an accidental beneficiary of regime changes," says Dr Ramanai from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), a defence and security think-tank, and author of Russia in Africa. "This time around Russia is a lot more proactive in support for the coup, and that has led to speculation that Russia has played a co-ordinating role."