BREAKING NEWS: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger sign ‘confederation’ treaty

After severing connections with an established West African bloc, the military commanders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger signed a treaty during their first summit in Niamey on Saturday, forming a new “confederation.”

Following their recent coups, the leaders of the three nations “adopted a treaty establishing a confederation” and “decided to take a step further towards greater integration between the member states,” according to a statement released at the summit’s conclusion on Saturday.

The “Confederation of Sahel States,” abbreviated as AES, will include of approximately 72 million individuals.

The three nations announced in January that they were leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), claiming that their previous colonial master, France, was manipulating the organization.

The three countries have all broken their military and defence links with France, seeking greater cooperation with Russia.

“Our people have irrevocably turned their back on ECOWAS,” said General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of Niger’s military government as he opened the summit.

Relations between ECOWAS deteriorated following a July 2023 coup that brought Tiani to power, when ECOWAS imposed sanctions and even threatened to intervene militarily to restore the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum.

The sanctions were lifted in February but relations between the two sides remain frosty.

ECOWAS is holding a leaders’ summit Sunday in Abuja where the question of relations with AES will be on the agenda.

The AES countries in March created a joint military force to combat the jihadist groups that regularly attack their territory.

Saturday they also talked about “mutualising” their approach to strategic sectors such as agriculture, water, energy and transport.

They also asked that indigenous languages be given greater prominence in local media.