US SECRETARY of State Antony Blinken warned that Russia’s Wagner mercenaries are taking advantage of instability in coup-hit Niger, whose neighbour Mali has become a partner of Moscow.

In an interview with the BBC released today, Blinken doubted that Wagner – which in June staged a shadowy rebellion against President Vladimir Putin – plotted the Niger military’s July 26 ouster of the elected president, Western ally Mohamed Bazoum.