On Saturday, Niger’s military leader declared that his country, along with neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, has decisively rejected the West African regional bloc.
The remarks were made during the inaugural summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), established by coup-affected Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso after withdrawing from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) earlier this year.
“Our people have definitively rejected ECOWAS,” declared Niger’s ruling general Abdourahamane Tiani to his fellow Sahel leaders, all of whom came to power through coups between 2020 and 2023, during the opening of the summit in Niamey, Niger’s capital.
At the summit, leaders of the three AES countries accused ECOWAS of being influenced by former colonial ruler France, with General Tiani advocating for the new bloc to be a “community independent of foreign powers’ control.”
The military leaders of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have collectively aimed to diminish Paris’s influence by expelling French anti-jihadist troops and shifting their focus to what they describe as their “trusted partners” — namely Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
Additionally, the three countries criticized ECOWAS for not taking sufficient action against jihadist violence, a persistent issue in the Sahel region.
“On Saturday, Tiani declared that the AES is the sole effective sub-regional coalition combating terrorism, criticising ECOWAS for its apparent lack of engagement in this battle.”
Following the July 2023 coup d’état that installed Tiani as Niger’s leader, relations between the three countries and ECOWAS sharply deteriorated.
In response, ECOWAS imposed severe economic sanctions on Niger and threatened military intervention to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum to power.
The sanctions were lifted in February, but tensions persist between the two sides.
ECOWAS is set to hold a summit of its heads of state in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday, where the topic of relations with the AES will be on the agenda.
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