By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Burkina Faso leader Capt. Ibrahim Traoré was on Tuesday named the new head of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) whose three military-led members withdrew from West Africa’s regional bloc, ECOWAS earlier this year.
Traoré took over from Mali’s General Assimi Goita, at the end of AES’s 2nd Ordinary Session of the College of Heads of State held in Bamako.
The meeting had in attendance all three AES leaders – General Assimi Goita (Mali), Captain Ibrahim Traoré (Burkina Faso), and General Abdourahamane Tiani (Niger).
The Alliance declared that the launch of its joint battalion “must be followed by large-scale operations in the coming days” in a region facing deadly extremism.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are the most affected as the vast Sahel region south of the Sahara has become the deadliest place in the world for extremism, with armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
All three countries have seen coups in recent years and struggled with overstretched security forces.
The countries’ leaders agreed to boost security and economic ties, days after the launched a joint military battalion that’s meant to fight the armed groups. It is expected to have 5,000 personnel.
The alliance formed in 2023 has “put an end to all occupation forces in our countries,” said Niger’s junta leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani, alluding to member states’ decisions to kick out longtime partners France and the United States.
“No country or interest group will decide for our countries anymore,” Tchiani added.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, however, have turned to Russia as a major security ally.
The annual summit, the second in the series shows growing collaboration among the three countries despite fractured relations and coup-related sanctions from global partners, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
The alliance is considering launching AES Television station, an AES Radio station, and a Confederal Bank for Investment and Development (BCID-AES) soon.
