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Blinken told BBC that the US was worried about the mercenary group \u201cpossibly manifesting itself\u201d in the Sahel region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I think what happened, and what continues to happen in Niger was not instigated by Russia or by Wagner, but\u2026 they tried to take advantage of it,\u201d Blinken said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery single place that this Wagner group has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Niger is currently under military rule after coup leaders deposed and detained the democratically-elected President Mohamed Bazoum nearly a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Numerous media reports have speculated that Niger’s military has reached out to Wagner for support in response to the growing threat of military intervention amid the escalating chaos in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Bazoum has also expressed concerns regarding Wagner’s growing influence in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an audio recording shared on the messaging app Telegram, Prigozhin indicated that the US might acknowledge a government that it did not acknowledge previously, solely to circumvent encountering Wagner within the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This statement was made in reference to the visit of the US State Department’s Deputy Secretary, Victoria Nuland, to Niger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nuland engaged with several coup leaders in Niger on Monday. However, meaningful progress in the crisis-ridden nation remained elusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, President Bazoum appealed to the US and other nations for assistance in reestablishing constitutional order in the country. EFE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
mos-vg-ssk<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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