The Making of a Russo-African Iron Curtain

While all attention is on the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow is securing key venues in Africa while Western nations withdraw or are forced out. Late on Thursday, Russian troops entered a U.S. airbase in Niger, after the new military junta there evicted the Americans (some 1,000 personnel) in the aftermath of a July 2023 coup. In an eerie development, both Russian and American troops are now housed at the same base, in different hangers, reportedly. Prior to the July coup, Washington was a key partner with Niger in terms of rounding…