Warlords of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to strengthen AES alliance with talks
The leaders of three West African military governments are meeting for the first time to cement an alliance formed over the objections of their neighbours.
The military took power in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger after a series of coups between 2020 and 2023.
All three countries – which now make up the Sahel Nations Union – have been affected by jihadist violence, part of the reason given for the military takeover.
In January, they all announced plans to leave the wider regional bloc Ecowas, which will hold its own summit on Sunday.
At a meeting on Saturday in Niger’s capital Niamey, military leaders are expected to formally form the alliance, known by its French acronym AES.
The leader of the coup in Niger, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, chaired the talks, along with Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso and Colonel Assimi Goïta of Mali.
Security cooperation is high on the agenda, but the AES will also aim to forge closer economic ties, including the goal of creating a common currency. This would be a rejection of the French-backed CFA Franc, used by many countries in the region.
All three countries have expelled French soldiers who were there on anti-jihadist missions and turned to Russia for military support.
Calls for increased sovereignty and rejection of old colonial powers were a key part of the military junta leaders’ speeches.
These countries also rejected Ecowas’s call for a quick return to civilian rule.
Captain Traoré arrived in Niamey the day before the meeting and was greeted with a warm welcome. Television footage showed cheering crowds waving Niger and Burkina Faso flags.
Among them was Sidi Mohamed, head of the National Youth Council.
“Today, as Africans, we are very proud to witness a summit where it is an African summit, a summit where countries have decided to pool their strength, to pool their forces to create an alliance for their development, without any foreign stakeholders, without any partners from the powers that have traditionally ruled us,” he told journalists.
Colonel Goïta arrived on Saturday.
Chairmen of the wider West African bloc will have a chance to respond at a heads of state meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday.
They are also expected to announce the activation of a stand-by force to address insecurity in the region.
Over the past decade, the Sahel has become a growing focus of activity by the Islamic State militant group, causing insecurity and instability.
Military governments in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have so far failed to quell the violence.
