The group is active in neighbouring countries they re seen here in the central african republic last month and wagner s leader has welcomed the takeover. the coup leaders, are currently standing firm against calls to restore democratic rule. here s what mr blinken had to say about wagner a little earlier: for sure we have concerns when we see something like the wagner group possibly manifesting itself in different parts of the sahel. and here is why we are concerned. because every single place that this group, wagner group has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed. insecurity has gone up, not down. it has not been a response to the needs of the countries in question for greater security. i think what happened and what continues to happen in niger was not instigated by russia or by wagner but to the extent that they try to take advantage of it and we see a repeat of what has happened in other countries where they ve brought nothing but bad things in their wak
Well, today s interview with antony blinken was done by my colleague waihiga mwaura of bbc focus on africa. i asked him about how much interest there was in what mr blinken had to say. as someone who speaks on behalf of the united states in that position of secretary of state, whatever he says is deemed as the voice of the us in matters of food security and the situation in niger. there is a lot of interest in what he had to say. his views on the president of niger, who is under house arrest, and his views on the wagner group, a lot of interest, and also, a sense in which whilst he was speaking to the bbc yesterday, in that exclusive interest, focus on africa, the secretary of state was in niamey
And burkina faso where they have a very lucrative arrangement with those governments, they provided security solutions and i use the word very broadly. because they are accused of horrendous human rights atrocities and massacres of civilians which they deny. in exchange for that they get very lucrative contracts and rights and diamonds and gold, and niger is the seventh largest place for uranium and france has been getting about 15% of its uranium lead from niger but i m sure that wagner group would like to move in creating a belt of countries where they have operations and also they have operations in sudan and other countries. that is wanner sudan and other countries. that is wagner grow) sudan and other countries. that is wagner group but sudan and other countries. that is wagner group but in sudan and other countries. that is wagner group but in terms - sudan and other countries. that is wagner group but in terms of - sudan and other countries. that is wagner group but in ter
This is bbc news: a warning from washington about the wagner mercenary group taking advantage of the coup in niger. us secretary of state, antony blinken, speaks to the bbc. every single place that this group, wagner group has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed. south american leaders meet to discuss measures to save the amazon rainforest. thousands gather on the streets of bray to pay their respects to the singer sinead o connor. hello, i m lucy hockins, welcome to bbc news now. three hours of fast moving news, interviews and reaction. we begin with the major political emergency unfolding in west africa following a military coup in niger. diplomatic efforts to find a resolution to the crisis have stepped up a gear with a warning from washington. speaking to the bbc, the us secretary of state,
Antony blinken, has voiced his concern that niger sjunta might turn to the russian mercenary group wagnerfor help. the group is active in neighbouring countries and its leader has welcomed the takeover. the coup leaders are currently standing firm against calls to restore democratic rule. here s what mr blinken had to say about wagner. for sure, we have concerns when we see something like the wagner group possibly manifesting itself in different parts of the sahel. and here is why we are concerned. because every single place that this group, wagner group has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed. insecurity has gone up, not down. it has not been a response to the needs of the countries in question for greater security. i think what happened and what continues to happen in niger was not instigated by russia or by wagner but to the extent that they try to take advantage of it and we see a repeat of what has happened