Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso Enter Mutual Defence Pact

By Samuel Ouma [caption id="attachment_108677" align="alignnone" width="2048"] The three nations are battling Islamist rebels affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization.[/caption] Military leaders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have signed an agreement that will enable them to come to each other's aid when the need arises. The deal was struck on Saturday, September 16, 2023, in Bamako, Mali. The pact, dubbed the Liptako-Gourma Charter, will see the signatories aiding one another in the case of an attack on any of them. “Any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one or more contracting parties shall be considered as an aggression against the other parties and shall give rise to a duty of assistance,” read the document in part. It also commits the three countries to work together to prevent or resolve the terrorism that keeps them captive. The three nations are battling Islamist rebels affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization. “I signed today with the Heads of State of Burkina Faso and Niger the Liptako-Gourma Charter establishing the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) with the objective of establishing an architecture of collective defense and assistance mutual for the benefit of our populations”, Mali’s junta leader Assimi Goita said on X, previously known as Twitter. The accord comes after the West African regional group ECOWAS pledged to intervene militarily in Niger to reinstate Mahamed Bazoum's overthrown government. Mali and Burkina Faso warned ECOWAS that such an operation would be considered a "declaration of war" against them.