Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have signed a security pact to defend each other from revolt or external assault, notably from ECOWAS.
The weekend accord was signed by the three military-ruled countries fighting al Qaeda and Islamic State rebels.
After the coups, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali had strained relations with neighbors and foreign partners.
The latest coup in Niger worsened relations with the three countries and ECOWAS, which threatened to deploy force to restore constitutional government. Mali and Burkina Faso will help Niger if ECOWAS attacks.
“Any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one or more contracted parties will be considered an aggression against the other parties,” states the Alliance of Sahel States charter.
It stated other states would help individually or collectively, including militarily.
“I signed the Liptako-Gourma charter establishing the Alliance of Sahel States with the Heads of State of Burkina Faso and Niger to establish a collective defense and mutual assistance framework,” Mali junta leader Assimi Goita announced on his X social media account.
Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Mauritania formed the 2017 France-backed G5 Sahel alliance joint force to fight extremists.
In May 2018, deposed Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum declared the force “dead,” after Mali left after a military coup.
France and the three states have strained relations since the military coups overthrew civil rule.
