Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali unite in military pact after coups

The military junta in Niger, which took control through a military coup on July 26th, has established a military alliance with its neighboring nations, Burkina Faso and Mali.

Similarly, the leadership in Burkina Faso and Mali also came into power following coups.

The foreign ministers of these three countries came together in Niamey, the capital of Niger, to make a collective announcement.

This agreement permits Mali and Burkina Faso to offer military support to Niger in case there is a need for military action against the coup leaders.

A comparable arrangement already exists between Burkina Faso and Mali.

Following the July coup in Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) activated a standby force and threatened violence if the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated and constitutional order restored.

Talks between ECOWAS and the Nigerian junta took place previous weekend.

The agreement which was announced also calls for the three countries to take joint action against terrorist groups active in their countries and secure their borders.

For years, the countries in the Sahel region have been threatened by various terrorist militias, some of which have sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State.

Under Bazoum, Niger was considered one of the last strategic partners of the West in the fight against the advance of Islamist terrorists in the Sahel.