What if the next hotbed of Russian-Western rivalry in Africa were to crystallize in the vast Chadian desert landscapes?
This is the assumption what does the New York Times, according to whom,fueled by guns, gold and social media”, the rivalry between Russia and the West in Africa has “now a prime target”: Chad.
A Russian plot?
The American daily affirms that the United States recently warned Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno that Russian mercenaries were plotting to kill him and three senior officials. Another assertion from Washington, Russian support for Chadian rebels who have taken refuge in the neighboring Central African Republic. Lastly, Moscow would provide active support to members of “the Chadian ruling elite”, ministers and even a half-brother of the president.
This analysis of New York Times echoes another article, Wall Street Journal that onewhich at the end of February already indicated that the American authorities informed their Chadian counterparts that the Russian paramilitary company Wagner would work with the Chadian rebels to destabilize the government and “potentially” kill the president of the country. This American information would have been corroborated by “European security officials”, who asserted that this information “was considered as credible”.
The financial daily rightly pointed out that Chad shares long porous borders with Libya to the north, the Central African Republic to the south and Sudan to the east, three countries where Wagner is already present and very active. A geographical location that makes it vulnerable
