Exactly one year ago, on September 16, 2023, the putschist military regimes of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger adopted the Liptako-Gourma Charter and created the Alliance of Sahel States: the AES. With the stated aim of fighting together the armed groups present on their respective territories. Today, the Alliance has become a Confederation, with an expanded scope of action. One year after its creation, what assessment can we draw?
Initially, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) was conceived as a defense pact, to ” “fight against terrorism”, armed groups linked to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, but also against ” any armed rebellion or other threat affecting the integrity of the territory “, starting with the rebels of the CSP (Permanent Strategic Framework), in the north of Mali.
The Liptako-Gourma Charter thus provided that ” any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one of the member countries ” would be ” considered as an aggression against others “, and would result in ” a duty of assistance », « including the use of armed force “. In short, the AES is first and foremost the promise of pooling military resources to combat non-state armed groups in Sahel.
Military cooperation: a mixed record
Halfway between military and diplomatic, the rapprochement of the three countries with Russia and its private paramilitary groups is the latest achievement of the AES.
- RFI
