Sahel summit: What is the biggest challenge facing the region?

A joint military battalion launched in Mali, Burkinabe, and Niger, to combat armed groups in one of Africa’s most impoverished and volatile regions, the Sahel.

As the three countries work to improve the security situation in response to rising attacks from separatist groups as well as armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), the initiative was announced at the conclusion of the two-day Alliance of Sahel States (AES) summit in Bamako, in response to the three countries’ efforts to summit.

Since its formation in 2023, the group has held its second summit.

What information about the summit is important to you, as well as whether the joint battalion will contribute to improving security in the three Sahel nations.

What was reached in consensus?

A joint battalion with a mandate centered on counterterrorism and border security is expected to be launched from the three countries. It is anticipated to have around 5, 000 soldiers from each of the three nations.

In the coming days, Burkinabe leader Ibrahim Traore announced “large-scale” joint operations against armed groups.

Additionally, the three leaders jointly established the AES Television, which is referred to in official communications as a means of promoting the region’s narrative and counteracting disinformation.

The leaders would review implementation reports, make decisions to consolidate accomplishments, and address significant challenges facing the bloc, according to a statement from the Burkinabe presidency.

The AES “put an end to all occupation forces in our countries,” according to General Omar Tchiani, the military leader of Niger. He claimed that no nation or interest group would make decisions for our nations.

Has the security situation improved as a result of Russian forces’ reliance?

In recent years, the three countries’ military leaders have withdrawn from France and the United States, their long-standing security partners. Niger, home to nearly 1, 000 US soldiers, and the world’s largest drone base, was where thousands of French soldiers were stationed in several African countries, including the three Sahel countries. Last year, US forces withdrawn from Niger.

In a security crisis where the Sahel nation’s military leaders are increasingly insecure, the leaders of the Sahel nations cut ties with their Western allies.

Around 1,500 members of the Wagner mercenary group and, since June, roughly 1, 000 members of the Kremlin-controlled paramilitary group Africa Corps are currently working with Bamako.

Burkinabe and Niger also have Russian soldiers present, though in smaller numbers.

Analyst Ulf Laessing claims that the apparent contradiction between allowing Russian mercenaries to operate on their soil and claiming to be free of foreign influence is a message from the military-run countries to the West, where they would prefer to “work less.”

According to Laessing, a Sahel analyst at Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung, “they don’t mind working with Russia, and all three countries have purchased drones from Turkey.”

“China also sends weapons to some nations,” the statement reads against the West.

Russia is less likely to sway their “domestic politics,” according to Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South.

“On the other hand, Western partners frequently condition interventions with what they perceive to be democratic practices that are consistent with Western norms,” he said.

In response to their respective military coups, several Western countries, including the United States, France, and the UK, as well as the European Union, have targeted sanctions, aid suspensions, and visa restrictions on the three Sahel countries.

According to analyst Laessing, the reliance on Russian forces has not improved the security situation.

He cited human rights reports that claim Russian forces have committed grave abuses as evidence that the security situation has deteriorated since the Russians have arrived in Mali.

According to analyst Lyammouri, Russian mercenaries have struggled to improve their combat against “violent extremist groups” despite their efforts to free the country of Kidal and parts of northern Mali from Tuareg rebels.

They “continue to carry]out] almost daily attacks and have also established new geographic areas in the southern and western parts of Mali.”

Which armed organizations are present in Niger, Mali, and Burkinabe?

For more than ten years, the three countries have battled separatists as well as armed groups, some of which are linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL.

The most powerful organization is Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a coalition affiliated with al-Qaeda that was founded in 2017. The JNIM has a strong foothold in central and northern Mali, has spread to much of Burkinabe, and is now active in western Niger as well.

The ISIL affiliate in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), also known as the ISIL affiliate in the Sahel Province (ISSP), is another important organization.

Eastern Mali, western Niger, and parts of northern and eastern Burkinabe, particularly in the tri-border zone, are ISGS’s main areas of activity. It has assaulted military installations and towns in large numbers.

The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-led separatist movement active in northern Mali, is one of the other actors. It was founded in 2024 after merging with other organizations like the Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), and it has launched attacks against both Malian and Russian forces.

The MNLA group, which was fighting for an independent state of Azawad, fought for parts of northern Mali in 2012, but their dominance of the area was waned.

A coup in Bamako caused a power vacuum in the north, which coincided with the security chaos of 2012. In 2013, France ordered military action against France in order to seize control of the Tuareg rebels.

The JNIM was formed when Ansar Dine and several other armed groups merged.

What are the main difficulties facing each of the three states?

All three countries are “major security challenges,” according to analyst Lyammouri. He claimed that “the overall conflict’s dynamics may vary between countries.”

Additionally, the conflict has created economic difficulties for the landlocked countries, Lyammouri continued, noting, for instance, that JNIM has placed barriers around the main roads since September.

JNIM has been targeting fuel tankers, particularly those that come from Senegal and the Ivory Coast, where Mali’s imports transit the most frequently.

He continued, noting that Mali’s economy is largely dependent on traffic from coastal states, with no other alternatives left, and that it is still diplomatically apart from the West and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

As the prices of goods rise and the local population struggles to access basic goods, he added, tensions with these nations have isolated AES states further and exposed them to social pressure.

Laessing questioned whether the joint battalion’s chances of succeeding were “so complex.” He said, “Anyone would struggle to contain this threat.”

Source: Aljazeera