Alliance of Sahel States
The Alliance of Sahel States (AoSS) is a mutual defense pact created between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso on 16 September 2023. The pact was created during the 2023 Nigerien crisis in which the West African political bloc ECOWAS threatened to intervene militarily to restore civilian rule after a coup in Niger earlier that year. All of these three states were increasing ties to Russia during creation of the organization. As such Russia is presumed to be behind this agreement. Josep Borrell, EU Foreign Minister, stated it lead to a ‘new geopolitical configuration’ in the region.
Alliance of Sahel States (red) | |
Formation | 16 September 2023 |
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Type | Military alliance, intergovernmental organization |
Purpose | Collective security |
Region | Sahel |
Membership |
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Leader | Ibrahim Traoré |
The alliance's stated goal is to protect against possible threats of armed rebellion or external aggression by emphasizing that "any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one or more contracted parties will be considered an aggression against the other parties."
This alliance is not to be confused with the Sahel Alliance (Alliance Sahel in French).