The leader of the Niger Republic military regime, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, has announced that his country and two other junta-led allies, Burkina Faso and Mali, have turned their backs on the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS).
Tchiani disclosed this while speaking at the opening of the maiden summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in the Nigerien capital Niamey on Saturday, July 6.
AES is the new front formed by the three Sahel allies to advance economic and security relations following their exit from ECOWAS earlier this year.
The gathering was attended by junta leaders from Burkina Faso and Mali, General Ibrahim Traore and Colonel Assimi Goita, respectively.
“Our people have irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS,” Niger’s ruling General told his fellow Sahel strongmen at the gathering on Saturday.
Relationships between the three nations and the sub-regional body have strained since the takeover of power through coups between 2020 and 2023.
ECOWAS had imposed several economic and security sanctions on the trio to restore democratic rule.
Last September, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger set up a mutual defense pact to ward off ECOWAS’ threat of military invasion of the latter after the deposition of the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
The three nations also announced in January their intention to exit the regional bloc over the accusation that the body had derailed from its core responsibilities.
In May, foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger agreed in Niamey on a draft text creating a new confederation, which their military leaders were expected to adopt at the ongoing summit.
“The AES is the only effective sub-regional grouping in the fight against terrorism,” Tchiani declared on Saturday, while faulting France for not providing enough support for anti-jihadist efforts in the region.
He also called ECOWAS “conspicuous by its lack of involvement in this fight.”