The leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, members of the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS), have decided to bring their defense and security forces to the highest state of combat readiness. This decision was outlined in a declaration signed by Mali's transitional president and ASS chairman, Assimi Goïta.
The declaration, published by AES Info, expresses concern over alleged deceptive maneuvers by France, which the alliance accuses of closing military bases in certain African nations only to replace them with subtler mechanisms serving the same “neocolonial objectives.”
It further alleges that terrorist groups in the Lake Chad Basin, the Sahel, and border regions, including areas between Niger and Nigeria, Niger and Benin, and Burkina Faso and Benin, are being reorganized and regrouped. These groups are reportedly receiving financial and logistical support aimed at destabilizing the alliance.
In response, ASS leaders have resolved to:
Place their defense and security forces on maximum alert.
Treat the ASS territory as a unified theater of military operations, alongside existing national theaters.
Alliance Background
On September 16, 2023, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger established the Alliance of Sahel States, a regional collective defense organization. According to its founding charter, any violation of a member state's sovereignty or territorial integrity will be considered an act of aggression against all members, warranting individual or collective military response.
The alliance aims to create an “African space of sovereignty” encompassing security, politics, geostrategy, and economics. This initiative builds on the declaration of the ASS confederation on July 6, which seeks deeper cooperation and regional integration.
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Based on materials from TASS