Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have announced the formation of the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (CASS), signalling a pivotal move towards creating an economic and military bloc. This decision was made public during the inaugural summit held in Niamey on Saturday, marking a departure from regional and Western affiliations following a series of coups in the respective countries.
The leaders of the three nations — Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso, Assimi Goita of Mali, and Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger — lauded the cooperation between their countries in combating terrorism within the alliance area. They underscored their dedication to deeper integration among member states. “Considering our shared goal of an effective fight against terrorism in the Sahel, particularly in the Liptako-Gourma region, we have decided to take a significant step towards greater unity,” the statement read.
The Liptako-Gourma region, straddling the borders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, has been the focal point of the Sahel’s security crisis since 2012.
On 16 September 2023, the three nations signed the Liptako-Gourma Charter, establishing the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). During the summit, the leaders praised the establishment of a unified Sahel states force at a chiefs of staff meeting in Niamey in March. The force’s mandate is to execute a permanent trilateral strategy to combat armed terrorist groups, transnational organised crime, and other threats.
The leaders also resolved to equip the confederation with “independent instruments for financing our economic and social policies” and to create a mechanism facilitating the free movement of people, goods, and services within the AES region. They announced the creation of an investment bank within the AES and decided to establish a stabilisation fund.
Following the creation of the AES, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The three leaders reaffirmed their “commitment to the principles and objectives enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations” and reiterated their dedication to the ideals, principles, and objectives of the African Union and Pan-Africanism.
In his address at the summit, Tchiani, President of the National Council for the Protection of the Homeland of Niger, stated that the formal approval of the treaty establishing the AES confederation “will fulfil the aspirations of our populations to form a union of states within our Sahelian space, sharing the same challenges, ambitions and ultimately, the same destiny.”
“In the current geopolitical context, the AES represents the most effective sub-regional group in the fight against terrorism, especially given ECOWAS’s lack of involvement in this struggle,” he said.
ECOWAS, one of Africa’s main regional blocs, suspended the three countries following military coups in Niger in July 2023, Burkina Faso in September 2022, and Mali in August 2021.
“The AES alone allows us to confront terrorist threats in a way that no other regional or international structure has done before,” Tchiani emphasised.
The past decade’s unrest in the Sahel, a vast semi-arid region of Africa stretching from Senegal eastwards to Sudan, has undermined security in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and other neighbouring countries. The 2011 NATO-led military intervention in Libya, which toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi, triggered significant instability, resulting in rampant arms trafficking and the proliferation of armed groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State.
According to Mark A. Green, President of the Wilson Centre, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, the Sahel accounts for 43 per cent of the world’s terrorism deaths, more than South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa combined.
“After the fall of Gaddafi, terrorism began in the Sahel region,” noted Bella Kamano, a political analyst based in Conakry, Guinea.
“Populations in Niger are complaining about insecurity in their country. Not a week or a month goes by without terrorists taking hostages and committing attacks against people in the villages,” Kamano added, highlighting that all countries in the Sahel region are suffering the consequences of the Libyan war.
The worsening security situation has fuelled rising anti-Western sentiment in West Africa in recent years. French troops have been gradually expelled from Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso as demanded by the military governments in these countries. Similarly, the United States has withdrawn most of its troops from Niger following Niamey’s decision to terminate a military agreement with Washington.
