A joint force of 5,000 troops from Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali will soon deploy in the central Sahel region to address escalating security challenges, Niger’s Defence Minister Salifou Mody announced.
The three nations, each led by military juntas that seized power between 2020 and 2023, formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) last year to counter rising violence.
This came after severing military and diplomatic ties with regional allies like France and other Western powers.
Mr Mody stated that the unified AES force would include its own air assets, equipment, and intelligence resources, operating across all three countries. “The AES force is nearly ready, numbering 5,000 personnel,” he said on Tuesday.
“It’s only a matter of weeks before this force will be visible on the ground,” he added, noting that some joint operations had already commenced.
The Sahel region has faced increasing violence from militants over the past decade.
The security situation has worsened since the recent coups, displacing approximately 2.6 million people by the end of December 2024, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.
The creation of the AES follows the three nations’ withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The move has disrupted decades of regional integration, with ECOWAS continuing to push for their return to the bloc.
Reuters/Patience Ameh
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