Military leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have signed a treaty establishing the “Confederation of Sahel States” (AES), marking a significant shift away from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The new confederation, encompassing 72 million people, aims for greater integration between member states after severing ties with ECOWAS, which they accused of being manipulated by France.
The three countries have also broken military and defence links with France, seeking closer cooperation with Russia instead.
General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of Niger’s military government, declared, “Our people have irrevocably turned their back on ECOWAS.” The move follows deteriorating relations after Niger’s July 2023 coup.
The AES countries recently created a joint military force to combat jihadist threats and discussed “mutualising” strategic sectors like agriculture, energy, and transport. They also called for greater prominence of indigenous languages in local media.
ECOWAS leaders are set to discuss relations with AES at their upcoming summit in Abuja.
