North Africa analysts believe new leader Ibrahim Traoré may seek help from Moscow in fight against Islamic extremists
— Read on www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/03/burkina-faso-coup-fears-growing-russian-mercenary-presence-sahel-north-africa

Russian mercenaries may be poised for further expansion in Africa’s strategically important Sahel region after the latest coup d’etat in the region, western officials and analysts fear.

The coup leader ” is likely to invite assistance from Moscow to boost the country’s flailing struggle against Islamic extremists, which has forced 2 million people to flee their homes and killed thousands.”

Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters, some waving Russian flags, lit fires, tore down barbed wire and threw stones at the French embassy in the capital, Ouagadougou, and attacked a French cultural centre in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso.

The coup comes amid a new push by Russia to win influence and gain access to valuable raw materials in sub-Saharan Africa in recent months, after years of careful if opportunistic efforts across the continent.