A joint military force comprising 5,000 troops from Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali is set to deploy in the central Sahel region, according to Niger’s Defence Minister, Salifou Mody.
The Defence Minister while speaking on state television announced that the force, part of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), is nearly ready and will be operational within weeks.
The AES, a cooperation pact formed by the juntas governing the three nations, aims to address escalating security threats in the region. These governments, which came to power through coups between 2020 and 2023, established the alliance after severing long-standing military and diplomatic ties with France and other Western powers.
Mody revealed that the unified force will include air assets, intelligence resources, and specialized equipment, allowing it to operate across the territories of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. While full deployment is imminent, Mody confirmed that some joint operations have already commenced.
The region has been plagued by worsening violence linked to Islamist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the conflict has displaced approximately 2.6 million people as of December 2024.
The formation of the AES and its unified force follows the countries’ withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a move that has raised concerns over the reversal of decades-long regional integration efforts. ECOWAS continues to urge the trio to reconsider their exit and re-engage with the broader regional bloc.
