MALI, BURKINA FASO & NIGER FORM AES CONFEDERATION

The people cheered after signatures officially established the confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) on 6 July at a summit in Niamey, Niger. The confederation is considered a transitional step before the establishment of a federation, one country under a shared federal government encompassing the territory of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Mali’s president, Assimi Goïta, who was appointed president of the confederation for a one-year term, stated, ‘The foreign affairs ministers’ meeting for the first time in Bamako on November 30 and December 1, 2023, agreed on diplomatic coordination and submitted our recommendation to set up a confederation uniting the three states pending the establishment of a federation grouping Burkina, Mali and Niger.’

This move comes after military coups ousted Western-aligned leaders in all three states over the past few years. The populations in each country largely support the coup governments.

The following day, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened a summit in Abuja to express concerns that the larger bloc is breaking up. The AES has clarified that it seeks a closer form of unification and collaboration than the Western-backed ECOWAS offers. The AES announced they’d exit ECOWAS in January, but it is unclear if the official exit is underway.

AES leaders said they left ECOWAS because the bloc did not do enough to combat terrorism or support the security of member states. They also stated that while ECOWAS claims to ensure the free movement of people and goods, border officials often fine and police West African nationals crossing borders.

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