Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso unite against growing Jihadi Insurgency

• Niger’s armed forces Chief Moussa Salaou Barmou announced the creation of a joint force to address security threats.
• They will develop a joint force to achieve their defense and security objectives.
• The move represents the latest step in bringing the three neighbors closer.

After a meeting with his counterparts, Niger’s armed forces Chief Moussa Salaou Barmou announced on Wednesday that the junta-led nations of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali have agreed to establish a joint force to address security threats across their territories.

The decision reflects the latest indication of closer alignment since the three neighbors in West Africa’s insurgency-torn central Sahel region severed military ties with longstanding allies, including France, and established a cooperation pact known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

In a televised statement, Barmou announced that the new task force would be “operational as soon as possible to meet the security challenges,” but did not provide further details on the size or scope of the force.

Violence in the region, fueled by the decade-long fight with Islamist groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State, has worsened since the three countries’ militaries seized power in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023.

In 2023, conflict fatalities in the central Sahel rose by 38 percent compared with the previous year, reaching a high point, according to US-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED. Reports indicate that Burkina Faso alone witnessed the killing of over 8,000 people last year.

On Wednesday, the army chiefs of military-ruled Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced the creation of a joint force to battle long-running jihadist rebellions raging in their countries. Following talks in Niamey, Niger’s army chief Moussa Salaou Barmou stated in a statement that the new force “will be operational as soon as possible to take into account the security challenges in our space.”

“We are convinced that, with the combined efforts of our three countries, we will manage to create the conditions for shared security,” he added.

The size of the joint force was unspecified. Still, Barmou stated that the three armies had agreed to develop an “operational concept” to achieve their defense and security objectives. The announcement represents the latest step in bringing the three neighbors closer, as they have severed ties with their former colonial ruler and traditional security ally France in favor of Russia.

Last year, they formed an Alliance of Sahel States, aiming to create a federation, and in January, they announced their intention to withdraw from the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOWAS imposed sanctions on all three countries for overthrowing democratically elected governments in a succession of coups since 2020.

Anger at civilian governments for failing to stem the violence inflicted by jihadist rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group played a significant role in the military takeovers. A jihadist revolt emerged in northern Mali in 2012 before spreading to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015. The spiraling violence has been estimated to have killed thousands and displaced millions across the region.

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