The leaders of the armies of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, three military regimes grouped within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), announced Wednesday the creation of a “Joint Force” to combat the scourge of jihadist insurgency in the Sahel.
The announcement was made at the first meeting of the chiefs of staff of the armed forces of the member countries of the AES in Niamey.
Reports cited the Chief of Staff of the Niger armed forces, Moussa Salau Barmou, as saying the new task force would be “operational as soon as possible to take into account the security challenges in our space”.
Although the structure and numbers of this force have not been specified, Barmou assures that all necessary considerations are being discusses and that the joint force would be configured as to ensure its success in improving security. “We are convinced that with the combined efforts of our three countries, we will succeed in creating the conditions for shared security,” assured Barmou.
He stressed that the three armies had managed to “develop an operational concept” which “will make it possible to achieve defence and security objectives” in the immense territory of the three countries.
These three countries, former French colonies, turned their backs on Paris and moved closer to new partners, including Russia, before regrouping under the AES with the aim of combating security challenges within their territory. They also announced that they were leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at an early date, which the organisation said was in contravention of the conditions for exit as provided for in its texts.
The announcement also comes amidst calls on the military leaders of the three states to expedite action towards implementing the various initiatives towards strengthening their alliance as expressed on September 16, 2023, by the signing of the Charter of the AES.
The Niamey meeting is seen as a highly strategic meeting aimed at pooling efforts, although serious cooperation is already perceptible in different theatres of operations across the AES space. Such cooperation, reports say, was witnessed on Wednesday March 6, 2024, around noon, in the combined effort of the Malian and Nigerien armies, launching joint air and land attacks against Islamist terrorists at a border post at Labbezanga in Mali.
Sources say so many examples of mutual support of the forces in the AES space has made it possible to carry out much more coordinated attacks against the insurgents in the Liptako-Gourma area.
