Junta-led Sahel states ready joint force of 5,000 troops, says minister

22/1/2025 16:40

A joint force of 5,000 troops from military-led neighbours Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali will soon deploy in their troubled central Sahel region, Niger's defence chief said on state television.



Juntas in the neighbouring West African countries seized control in a series of coups between 2020 and 2023. Last year, they agreed to tackle security threats jointly after severing long-standing military and diplomatic ties with regional allies, France, and other Western powers.



Niger Defence Minister Salifou Mody said the new force would have its own air assets, equipment, and intelligence resources and operate across the territory of the three nations, which have formed a cooperation pact known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).



"The unified AES force is nearly ready, numbering 5,000 personnel," Mody said on Tuesday.



Violence fuelled by a decade-long fight with Islamist groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State has worsened since the coups. Around 2.6 million people were displaced within the region as of end-December, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA.