Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali to Deploy Joint Force to Combat Security Threats
The junta-led countries in West Africa – Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali – will deploy a joint force of 5,000 troops to deal with escalating security challenges in the central Sahel region. Niger’s Defense Minister Salifo Modi said that Alliance of Sahel States (AES) forces equipped with aviation assets, intelligence resources and equipment will soon begin operations in the three countries. The move comes after those countries decided to sever ties with Western powers and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which suffered a series of coups between 2020 and 2023. The Sahel region has been battling Islamist insurgents linked to Algiers. Al Qaeda and ISIS have been around for about a decade. Despite promises to resolve the coup, the crisis has only worsened since the coup.
source: Reuters
