Concerning? The Scramble for Africa continues!
"Turkey is advancing as a leading alternative to Western and Russian security partnerships across West Africa as it moves to backfill recently departed French forces in Chad. Russia’s and Turkey’s efforts to fill the security void left by decreased Western engagement in West Africa are not mutually exclusive and are sometimes complementary. Turkey’s growing role as a leading counterterrorism partner in Africa and Syria could lead to increased Salafi-jihadi attack plots in Turkey."
"... The French state-owned outlet Radio France Internationale reported on January 31 that Chad planned to base Turkish drones and Turkish drone technicians at the Faya-Largeau air base in north-central Chad and Abéché air base in eastern Chad. Multiple outlets reported in early February that Chad and Turkey signed an agreement in mid-January that granted Turkey “control” of the Abéché air base. Other reports only noted that Chad agreed to host Turkish personnel at Abéché to train the Chadian Air Force. ...
Turkish advisers and trainers are present in many other francophone African countries that are diversifying their partnerships away from the West while simultaneously facing worsening Salafi-jihadi insurgencies. An attack by al Qaeda’s Sahelian affiliate, Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wa al Muslimeen (JNIM), in October 2024 killed two Turkish soldiers near the Burkinabe border, confirming reports that Turkish trainers were present in northern Togo. Turkish personnel instruct Togolese forces, help clear mines, and pilot helicopters to improve border security in northern Togo. Turkey sought to expand preexisting training efforts in Mali and Niger in 2024 that had been in place for several years.
Turkey is a leading provider of drones in Africa. Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Togo all use Turkish drones in their counterterrorism operations. Turkish drones have an optimal price-to-performance ratio for many African countries as they are more affordable than similar Western models but perform better than cheaper Chinese or Iranian drones. Turkish drone diplomacy has built on preexisting defense ties in places such as Nigeria and created defense ties that Turkey has expanded on in francophone West Africa.
Turkey reportedly sent more than a thousand Syrian mercenaries to Burkina Faso and Niger in 2024. ... The mercenaries are reportedly primarily responsible for protecting crucial economic sites where the Turkish government has a shared stake, such as mines. ...
Russia’s and Turkey’s efforts to fill the security void left by decreased Western engagement in West Africa are not mutually exclusive and are sometimes complementary. ... Turkish and Russian officials frame themselves as non-colonial alternatives that put fewer conditions on their assistance than their Western counterparts. France and Turkey have been rivals for influence in Africa for over a decade, and Turkey repeatedly criticized France’s decade-long military intervention in the Sahel as neocolonial. Turkish outreach leverages Turkey’s shared Muslim roots and cultural values with the majority-Muslim Sahelian countries as a comparative advantage over the West and Russia.
Russia’s and Turkey’s defense partnerships with African countries often address different partner-country needs and sometimes complement each other. The Malian junta leverages Turkish drones and trainers to augment its forces while over 1,000 Russian personnel are engaged in a direct combat capacity alongside the Malian army.
Turkish mercenaries in Burkina Faso and Niger protect high-value economic targets, whereas the small Russian contingents in these countries primarily focus on training and on protecting the junta leaders. ... reported that Sadat put some mercenaries under the command of Russian advisers in Niger, while Wagner Group–linked sources claimed that Sadat-linked technicians in Mali operate and maintain Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones that support Malian and Russian forces.
Russian and Turkish overlap in Africa could give Russia insight into the Turkish drone systems used by African partner governments. ..."
Figure 6. Russian and Turkish Defense Partnerships in Africa
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