Last year, the West African nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger established the 'Alliance of Sahel States', a new mutual defence pact in response to political disputes with the regional organisation, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

These three countries are located in the Sahel region of West Africa which borders the Sahara Desert. For over a decade the region has seen much political as well as security instability… and as a consequence the Sahel countries’ elected governments were toppled in military coups. In early 2024, the three juntas led-states declared their withdrawal from ECOWAS.

To learn exactly why these states decided to leave and what potential ramifications does this new alliance hold for the region, 4ZZZ's Toni Pankaluic spoke with Dr Muhammad Dan Suleiman, International Relations Academic at WA's Curtin University and a West Africa security analyst.

For a deep dive...

Muhammad recommends checking out 'The Conversation' for more on this topic. Here are some articles discussing the Alliance of Sahel States: '...An expert view of its success' and 'Ecowas: West African trade bloc shaken...'

The Mali Embassy in the United States has a viewable Charter of Liptako-Gourma document which established the 'Alliance of Sahel States'.