Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger’s joint fight against all odds

Malian Military officer Colonel Assimi Goïta took over as interim leader of the country after the 2021 coup d’état seizing power from President Bah Ndaw.

In Burkina Faso, President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was ousted through an uprising on September 30, 2022, after which Captain Ibrahim Traoré took over power as an interim leader.

Niger joined the fray on July 26, 2023, when Presidential Guard Commander General Abdourahamane Tchiani declared himself the leader of the military junta after a successful coup d’état.

Following the overthrows in each of these countries, the respective junta leaders have made steady efforts to move away from France which had been a bilateral partner.

Security

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have all requested the withdrawal of French troops from their respective countries. This forms part of efforts to scale down France’s military presence in the region.

The withdrawal began in Mali with the last batch of French troops leaving the country in August 2022. A statement from the French military said that the final contingent of the Barkhane force on Malian territory crossed the border on August 16, 2022.

In February 2023, the Burkina Faso army announced the closure of operations of French forces in the country. On February 18, a flag-lowering ceremony was held to mark the occasion at a camp on the outskirts of the capital Ouagadougou.

And in Niger, France had begun withdrawing its troops with about 1,500 soldiers leaving the country in December 2023.

The most recent to withdraw its mission in Mali was the United Nations after 10 years of peacekeeping in the country following allegations that the force was inadequate to deal with violent extremism in the country.

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso are now no longer members of the France-supported G5 Sahel alliance joint force with Chad and Mauritania which was launched in 2017 to tackle Islamist groups in the region.

The three states have since signed a security pact to support each other in the face of external aggression or rebellion. Amidst efforts to tackle insurgency and terrorism linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, the Alliance of Sahel States aims to establish a collective defence and mutual assistance framework as a defence mechanism, depending solely on their efforts while trying to rope in Russia whom they say is a better option compared to France.

Language

French is no longer an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso. Mali began the move away from its colonial language earlier in 2023 when it modified its constitution by referendum, moving French to a working language.

Burkina Faso followed suit by introducing a bill to elevate indigenous languages as the official language while dropping French as a working language. With this new direction, all official documents and businesses do not need to be written in French, and local languages can be used officially in any public administration capacity.

Monetary shift

All three states may soon be using a single currency with attempts to form a monetary alliance. Niger’s General Abdourahamane Tchiani gave a hint about this after a visit to Mali and Burkina Faso.

The countries currently use the West African CFA Franc which is pegged to the euro, together with five others in the region.

Burkina Faso’s military leader Ibrahim Traoré also hinted at plans to establish closer economic alliance ties with Mali and Niger.

A shift from the eight-member West African monetary union to adopt a new currency may further isolate Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, who have called their new union the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

ECOWAS restrictions

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso are still making decisions amidst stringent sanctions slapped by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Sanctions including economic and financial restrictions between member states have been placed on these countries as a means to force them back to constitutional democracy.

Mali and Burkina Faso were suspended from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after undergoing military coups since 2020. Niger has also been suspended following its refusal to reinstate former President Mohamed Bazoum.

Meanwhile, plans have been indicated by ECOWAS to establish a committee of three leaders to negotiate with Niger’s military junta on a possible transition to democracy and easing of sanctions.