The heads of three West African military governments have met for the first time to strengthen their alliance despite opposition from neighboring countries.
Military forces seized power in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in a series of coups between 2020 and 2023.
All three countries that form the Sahel Union have suffered from jihadist violence, which is seen as one of the reasons the military took power.
In January, they announced plans to leave Ecowas, a broad regional bloc that holds its own summit on Sunday.
At a meeting in Niger’s capital Niamey on Saturday, military chiefs are expected to formally create the coalition known by its French acronym AES.
The talks were hosted by Niger’s coup leader, General Abdourahmane Chiani, and attended by Burkina Faso’s Colonel Ibrahim Traoré and Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goita.
While security cooperation is top of the agenda, the AES will consider forging closer economic ties, including creating a common currency, a move that would reject the French-backed CFA franc used by many countries in the region.
All three countries expelled French soldiers who had been sent to participate in the counter-holy war and turned to Russia for military assistance.
A central theme in the military leaders’ rhetoric was their call for greater sovereignty and a rejection of former colonial powers.
These countries also resisted calls by Ecowas for a swift return to civilian rule.
Captain Traoré arrived in Niamey a day before the meeting and was greeted with enthusiastic welcome. TV pictures showed cheering crowds waving Niger and Burkina Faso flags.
Among them was Sidi Mohammed, head of the National Youth Council.
“Today, as Africans, we are very proud to see the African Summit, a summit where nations have decided to pool their energies, pool their strengths and create an alliance for development, without any foreign stakeholders, without any counterparts from the powerful countries that have ruled over us,” he told reporters.
Colonel Goita arrived on Saturday.
West African Union presidents will have the opportunity to respond at a meeting of heads of state in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday.
It will also announce the activation of a standby force to combat regional unrest.
Over the past decade, the Sahel region has become an increasingly hotbed of Islamic State militant activity, creating instability and unrest.
Military regimes in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have so far failed to quell the violence.
