Algeria's deployment of air patrol squadrons to Niger following an attempted coup marks a significant shift in regional dynamics, as Algiers pursues an assertive Sahel policy to counter Morocco's expanding influence. This strategic competition threatens to complicate US counterterrorism efforts and reshape the geopolitical landscape across West Africa's critical energy corridors.

Russia's Africa Corps successfully defended Niger's military junta from a coup attempt in August 2024, demonstrating Moscow's deepening security role in the Sahel region. This analysis examines how Russia's entrenchment as a regime protector complicates US counterterrorism objectives and critical mineral access strategies, while exposing the Alliance of Sahel States' inability to provide mutual defense without external support.

It seems like a number of militant groups are mushrooming in the Niger Delta of late.