APA-Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) sees itself as an alternative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
On Wednesday 6 March in Niamey, the army chiefs of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced the creation of a “joint force” to combat armed groups.
This joint force of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) “will be operational as soon as possible to address the security challenges in our area,” said General Moussa Salaou Barmou, Niger’s Chief of Staff, in a statement issued after a meeting.
A Malian officer contacted by APA spoke of a “highly strategic meeting aimed at pooling efforts” to set up a “unified army.”
The meeting in Niamey enabled an “operational concept” to be drawn up in order to achieve defence and security objectives.
“We are convinced that with the combined efforts of our three countries, we will succeed in creating the conditions for shared security,” General Barmou assures.
“The armed forces of the Liptako-Gourma region amply justify the political will clearly affirmed and assumed by the heads of state of the ESA,” the Malian army goes on in a statement.
The three countries of the Alliance of Sahel States, all led by military officers, have been plagued by a regional jihadist insurgency for ten years.
These “military (…) will probably continue to shape the region’s security policies in 2024”, says a security specialist based in Ouagadougou.
During 2023, colonel Assimi Goita, captain Ibrahim Traoré and general Abdoudramane Tiani pushed French troops out of the central Sahel and drew closer to Russia. As part of this drive, Mali welcomed Russian instructors in 2022, while the first Africa Corps contingent arrived in Burkina earlier this year.
In September 2023, the three leaders signed the Liptako-Gourma Charter, creating the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Following Mali, Burkina and Niger left the joint G5Sahel force.
At the end of January 2024, the three countries announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS, which they accused of betraying the principles of its founding fathers.
DS/ac/fss/as/APA