Current:Home > FinanceA newly formed alliance between coup-hit countries in Africa’s Sahel is seen as tool for legitimacy-LoTradeCoin
A newly formed alliance between coup-hit countries in Africa’s Sahel is seen as tool for legitimacy
View Date:2024-12-23 21:36:40
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Three West African nations led by military juntas met this week to strengthen a newly formed alliance described by some analysts on Friday as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors.
In his first foreign trip since the July coup that brought him into power, Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani held separate meetings Thursday with his Mali and Burkina Faso counterparts.
During their meetings, the leaders pledged security and political collaborations under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a partnership the three countries announced in September as a measure to help fight the extremist violence they each struggle with and across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.
The alliance provides a “path of sovereignty” for the countries and for their citizens, Gen. Tchiani told reporters after his meeting with Malian leader Col. Assimi Goita. “Through this alliance, the peoples of the Sahel affirm that … nothing will prevent them from the objective of making this area of the Sahel, not an area of insecurity, but an area of prosperity,” Tchiani said.
In reality, though, the partnership “is in part an effort to entrench and legitimize (their) military governments” more than to tackle the violent extremism which they have limited capacity to fight, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
The violence across the Sahel has contributed to a recent surge of coups in the region and militaries that claimed they took over power to help tackle their country’s security challenges have struggled to do so.
On Thursday, Gen. Tchiani partly blamed the violence on foreign powers, repeating claims his government has often made against France — which had been influential in the three countries before being forced out after their militaries took over — and against West Africa’s regional bloc of ECOWAS, which has heavily sanctioned Niger as a measure to reverse the surge of coups in the region.
The new partnership also offers the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger an opportunity “to say, ‘we are not internationally isolated and we actually have partners that share our ideology and philosophy’,” said James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at the U.S.-based Hudson Institute.
Some analysts, however, believe that by pooling their resources together, those countries are able to reduce individual reliance on foreign countries and tackle the security challenge with one front.
“The merit of this new alliance, despite its limited means and capabilities, lies in its initiation by concerned members,” said Bedr Issa, an independent analyst who researches the conflict in the Sahel. “Its long-term success depends both on the resources that member countries can mobilize and the support that Africans and the broader international community could provide,” he added.
In the Malian capital of Bamako, 35-year-old Aissata Sanogo expressed hope that such a partnership could be useful.
“It’s important that we take charge of our own security,” said Sanogo. “That’s what I’m expecting from this alliance.”
____
Associated Press journalist Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali, contributed to this report.
____
Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
veryGood! (835)
Related
- Elon Musk responds after Chloe Fineman alleges he made her 'burst into tears' on 'SNL'
- Judge says Canada’s use of Emergencies Act to quell truckers’ protests over COVID was unreasonable
- Appeals court rejects Trump’s bid to reconsider gag order in the election interference case
- J.Crew’s Extra 60% off Sale Features Elevated Staples & Statement Pieces, Starting at $9
- 2 more escaped monkeys recaptured and enjoying peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in South Carolina
- Sharon Osbourne Shares She Attempted Suicide After Learning of Ozzy’s Past Affair
- Ariana Grande debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 for sixth time, tying Taylor Swift
- Led by Chiefs-Bills thriller, NFL divisional round averages record 40 million viewers
- Man found dead in tanning bed at Indianapolis Planet Fitness; family wants stricter policies
- New member of Mormon church leadership says it must do better to help sex abuse victims heal
Ranking
- Klay Thompson returns to Golden State in NBA Cup game. How to watch
- Applebee's customers feel stood up after Date Night Passes sell out in 30 seconds
- Mississippi governor wants lawmakers to approve incentives for new economic development project
- Victor Wembanyama shows glimpses of Spurs' future at halfway point of rookie season
- Video ‘bares’ all: Insurers say bear that damaged luxury cars was actually a person in a costume
- See maps of the largest-ever deep-sea coral reef that was discovered in an area once thought mostly uninhabited
- CDC declares end of cantaloupe salmonella outbreak that killed 6, sickened more than 400
- Military veteran charged in Capitol riot is ordered released from custody
Recommendation
-
Is the stock market open on Veterans Day? What to know ahead of the federal holiday
-
Remains of Green River Killer's 49th and last known victim identified as teen Tammie Liles — but other cases still unsolved
-
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater Hold Hands While Taking Their Love From Emerald City to New York City
-
Rhode Island Ethics Commission dismisses complaint against Gov. McKee filed by state GOP
-
The Office's Kate Flannery Defends John Krasinski's Sexiest Man Alive Win
-
Amy Robach Says Her and T.J. Holmes' Careers Were Taken From Them Amid Romance
-
3 dead in ski-helicopter crash in Canada
-
Rights center says Belarusian authorities have arrested scores of people in latest crackdown