For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid email address
SIGN UP
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice
Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email
{{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}
Three West African nations led by military juntas met this week to strengthen a newly formed alliance described by some analysts on Friday as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors.
In his first foreign trip since the July coup that brought him into power, Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani held separate meetings Thursday with his Mali and Burkina Faso counterparts.
During their meetings, the leaders pledged security and political collaborations under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a partnership the three countries announced in September as a measure to help fight the extremist violence they each struggle with and across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.
The alliance provides a “path of sovereignty” for the countries and for their citizens, Gen. Tchiani told reporters after his meeting with Malian leader Col. Assimi Goita. “Through this alliance, the peoples of the Sahel affirm that … nothing will prevent them from the objective of making this area of ？？the Sahel, not an area of ？？insecurity, but an area of ？？prosperity,” Tchiani said.
In reality, though, the partnership "is in part an effort to entrench and legitimize (their) military governments” more than to tackle the violent extremism which they have limited capacity to fight, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
RECOMMENDED
Former royal chef explains unusual dinner rule for William and Kate’s children
Undo
Putin launches biggest drone attack yet - latest on Russia-Ukraine war
Undo
Combat Siege
If you have a mouse, you have to play this game.Combat Siege| Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Navy Quest Game
If you own a mouse, you have to play this game.Navy Quest Game| Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Powered by Taboola Powered by Taboola
The violence across the Sahel has contributed to a recent surge of coups in the region and militaries that claimed they took over power to help tackle their country's security challenges have struggled to do so.
Promoted stories
The Knife Expert
This Knife Stays Sharp For A Lifetime - You'll Never Guess WhyThe Knife Expert Learn More
Undo
by Taboola by Taboola
Sponsored Links Sponsored Links
Promoted Links Promoted Links
On Thursday, Gen. Tchiani partly blamed the violence on foreign powers, repeating claims his government has often made against France — which had been influential in the three countries before being forced out after their militaries took over — and against West Africa’s regional bloc of ECOWAS, which has heavily sanctioned Niger as a measure to reverse the surge of coups in the region.
The new partnership also offers the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger an opportunity "to say, ‘we are not internationally isolated and we actually have partners that share our ideology and philosophy’,” said James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at the U.S.-based Hudson Institute.
Some analysts, however, believe that by pooling their resources together, those countries are able to reduce individual reliance on foreign countries and tackle the security challenge with one front.
“The merit of this new alliance, despite its limited means and capabilities, lies in its initiation by concerned members," said Bedr Issa, an independent analyst who researches the conflict in the Sahel. "Its long-term success depends both on the resources that member countries can mobilize and the support that Africans and the broader international community could provide,” he added.
In the Malian capital of Bamako, 35-year-old Aissata Sanogo expressed hope that such a partnership could be useful.
“It’s important that we take charge of our own security,” said Sanogo. “That’s what I’m expecting from this alliance.”
____
Associated Press journalist Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali, contributed to this report.
____
Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
More about AP Sahel West Africa Nigeria Abuja Mali Niger Ecowas Burkina Faso Sahara Desert France Bamako
1/ 1A newly formed alliance between coup-hit countries in Africa’s Sahel is seen as tool for legitimacy
A newly formed alliance between coup-hit countries in Africa’s Sahel is seen as tool for legitimacy Sahel Coups Security Alliance
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
？ Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Subscribe
Already subscribed? Log in