Russia cements itself as the Sahel’s trusted partner
Young people waving Russian flags in Burkina Faso during a protest (via Ara)
The recent coups in the Sahel have displayed an anti-Western sentiment, with its governments realigning with Russia for security and strategic partnerships, while the region becomes a new arena for global influence, according to a report by Ara on January 21st.
Beatriz Mesa, researcher and professor at Gaston Berger University, said, “We are facing a new cold war in the Sahel, which has become Europe’s new geopolitical laboratory.” However, this realignment with Moscow is driven by anti-West sentiment, more so than sympathy with Moscow.
The African emancipation has come along with the rise of anti-colonial sentiment, with many ex-French colonial countries expelling French troops and demanding apologies for colonial crimes.
This anti-colonial sentiment is reinforced by the new military juntas, such as Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso, who has built his reputation on the back of anti-imperialist and anti-western sentiment, urging fellow African nation-states to unshackle themselves from their neocolonial chains.
When Captain Traoré took charge in Burkina Faso in the 2022 coup, young people took to the streets in full support of him, waving Russian flags along with the Burkina Faso ones. A group of demonstrators also stormed the French embassy and looted the French Cultural Centre during the coup.
Joseph Bado, an organiser of the protests and a member of the Patriotic Front (coalition of civil society organisations) said that “Our problem isn’t the French, but French policy, French policy is outdated, it’s finished. We’ve finally understood that their policy is diabolical in Africa.”
A young man from Mali who lives in Burkina Faso explained how speaking ill of France was prohibited, “Now we have social media and government permission to speak openly; before, if you spoke ill of France, you could be imprisoned.”
When the Western-backed West African bloc ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) condemned the coups in the Sahel and demanded a return to democratic governance, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger rejected these pressures and withdrew from the regional bloc.
In 2024, ECOWAS gave Niger’s new military junta leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, a week to free the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, warning that it could use force if he didn’t. The EU, the US, and France supported this warning.
But in response, Mali’s Prime Minister, Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, warned on TV that any military intervention by ECOWAS to bring back Bazoum would be seen as a declaration of war by Mali and Burkina Faso. Guinea also supported this stance. And all four countries have recently grown closer to Russia.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have now formed their own grouping known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — a confederation aimed at collective defence and mutual support against security threats and foreign influence.
In the Sahel, Russia is positioning itself as an alternative to the French-led security framework established in 2013, when Mali requested French assistance to combat jihadist insurgencies. In return for providing arms and military support, the Kremlin is looking to forge new international alliances beyond the Western bloc, strengthening backing for its actions in Ukraine and reducing its global isolation.
In Mali, Russia has its biggest military presence, with the previous Wagner group, which helped Mali’s President Assimi Goita retain stability in the country, being replaced by the Russian state-controlled Africa Corps in July 2025.
Many young people believe that Russia is not there to manipulate them, unlike France, who they believe has deceived them over the years. “The Sahel countries are positioning themselves for or against Russia or France,” said Beatriz Mesa.
“Time will tell if people have been manipulated by Russia, but to say so from the outset is to treat Burkinabe society like idiots,” said journalist Kalidou Sy, editor-in-chief of the television channel France 24.
While Western media and governments have repeatedly highlighted the threat that Moscow poses to global stability, many Africans refute this view and do not view Russia like the Europeans do. Russia has long supported anti-colonial movements and also condemned South African apartheid in the past. These views align with African people who see it as a bastion against Western, white-dominated interests.
Ara, Maghrebi.org
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