Member-only story
Is Wagner Group’s Presence In Sahelian Africa Responsible For ISIS’ Attack In Moscow?
Read on…
Russia was the least likely place for a terrorist attack.
While I am not downplaying the historical grievances of the Chechens for a nanosecond, not even they would have dared to strike at the heart of the Russian cultural life, in the way that ISIS did.
And so we must ask, why now and why Russia?
For answers, we must look further afield to Africa.
Russia has been very busy around the globe and even more so in the Sahel.
The Sahel, which comprises Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, Chad and Northern Nigeria is a hotbed for Islamic terrorism.
And extreme exploitation from its colonial powers.
With the exception of Nigeria, every other country in the Sahel was colonized by France and this middling European nation has made the most of its historical ties by keeping these nations in economic bondage since their nominal independence in the 1960s.
This was achieved through the imposition of the generic currency —CFA Francs and the holding of deposits in Paris.
This arrangement essentially meant that Sahelian nations had no powers to decide their own fate.