The member countries of the Sahel state alliance (AES) confirmed their decision to leave the economic community of West African states (Ekovas).
AES member countries gathered to meet at the level of ministers in Vagadug, the capital of Burkina-Faso.
AES written statement about the meeting says that the leaders of the three countries are still determined to create a confederation of three states.
The statement notes that the meeting also confirms the decision of the three countries on leaving Ekovas.
Mali, Burkina-Faso and Niger created AES in September 2023.
According to the AES declaration, an attack on one of the subscription countries will be considered an attack on all other countries, and all parties will collectively answer this, including the use of armed force.
In November 2023, Burkina-Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from the G5 Sahel operational group. Mali in November 2023 left the target group G5 in Sahel.
These three countries announced the withdrawal from Ekovas in a joint statement published on January 28.
The general border between Niger, Mali and Burkina-Faso is known as Liptako-Gurma. In the Liptako-Gurme region, the territory of which exceeds Germany’s Square, about 7 million people live.
Since 2015, the region has been attacked by terrorist groups related to al-Qaeda and deash.