Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger juntas confirm plan to form new tri-state confederation

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have confirmed their commitment to form a confederation following their ‘exit’ from the regional bloc ECOWAS and called to “urgently” draft provisions ensuring the free movement of people and goods between the three West African countries.
A trilateral meeting of ministerial delegations on 15 February also recommended expanding the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) objectives in diplomacy and economic development. The AES was created in September 2023, a few months after the military coup in Niger. They “reaffirmed their commitment to advancing resolutely in the process of implementing the AES and creating the Tri-State Confederation,” the Malian foreign ministry said in an online post. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger last month announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on grounds of what they said were illegal and inhumane sanctions.
In his speech, Malian government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, reiterated the accusations against ECOWAS, including that the organization “has become, by some leaders, an instrument that tried to pile populations against each other” and also has “(threatened) to militarily attack a sovereign state, whose people have simply decided to take their destiny in their hands.” Maiga also sought to distance AES from the ECOWAS, stressing that AES “will remain an alliance of states united by a common ambition of the emancipation of Africa.” The three juntas have all severed long-standing military ties with former colonial ruler France, dealing a blow to France’s influence in the Sahel and complicating international efforts to fight the militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.