Moda Dieng and Philippe M. Frowd

On 16 September 2023 in Bamako, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger established the Alliance of Sahel States, a mutual defence pact. The agreement was signed against the backdrop of an ongoing political crisis in Niger following a coup on 26 July 2023. The regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), threatened military intervention.

The leaders of the three countries signed the Liptako-Gourma charter, named after the Liptako-Gourma region, which straddles the three countries and is at the heart of security concerns in the central Sahel.

The alliance was set up to help counter possible threats of armed rebellion or external aggression. According to the member states:

any attack against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one or more contracting parties will be considered as aggression against the other parties.

However, the different bodies and mechanisms of the alliance have yet to