Following a military coup that took place on July 26, the junta in Niger has established a military alliance with neighboring countries Burkina Faso and Mali.
Similar to Niger, the leadership of Burkina Faso and Mali also came into power through coups.
In a joint announcement in Niamey, Niger’s capital, the foreign ministers of the three countries unveiled this accord.
This agreement enables Mali and Burkina Faso to extend military support to Niger in the event of military intervention against the coup leaders.
A comparable arrangement already exists between Burkina Faso and Mali.
After the July coup in Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mobilized a standby force and issued threats of intervention unless the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was reinstated and the constitutional order reinstated.
Dialogues between ECOWAS and the Nigerian junta took place the previous weekend.
The announced agreement also outlines joint efforts among the three nations to combat terrorist groups operating within their territories and secure their borders.
For years, the countries within the Sahel region have faced threats from various terrorist militias, some of which have pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State.
Under Bazoum’s leadership, Niger was considered a crucial Western partner in the fight against the advancement of Islamist extremists in the Sahel.
