Russia's Wagner Boss 'Hails' Niger Coup, US Offers 'Unflagging Support' To Ousted President: Report

Yevgeny Prigozhin termed the coup as a moment of long overdue liberation from Western colonisers.

Abdourahmane Tchiani and other army commanders hold a meeting in the capital, Niamey, Niger.

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New Delhi: Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin, who went into an exile in Belarus after raising the banner of revolt against President Vladimir Putin last month, has "hailed" the Niger military coup and offered his fighters’ services to bring order, news agency Reuters reported. According to the report, a voice message on Telegram app channels associated with Wagner, the paramilitary force led by Prigozhin, termed the coup as a moment of long overdue liberation from Western colonisers.

"What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers. With colonisers who are trying to foist their rules of life on them and their conditions and keep them in the state that Africa was in hundreds of years ago," said the message, as reported by Reuters.

The speaker, who had the same intonation and turn of phrase in Russian as the Wagner boss, said Prigozhin did not claim involvement in the military coup, but made what looked like a pitch for his paramilitary troops to help keep order. However, Reuters could not confirm if the speaker was Prigozhin.

"Today this is effectively gaining their independence. The rest will without doubt depend on the citizens of Niger and how effective governance will be, but the main thing is this: they have got rid of the colonisers," the message further said.

Meanwhile, US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told Niger ousted president Mohamed Bazoum that the United States would work to ensure full restoration of constitutional order and offered Bazoum “unflagging support”, a report by The Guardian stated.

According to the report, the White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said Washington condemned any effort to seize power by force, and said a military coup could cause the US to stop security and other cooperation with Niger.