Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger sign an agreement to protect each other if they are attacked.

  Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have signed a tripartite defense agreement binding the three Sahel countries to help each other in the event of a military attack against any of them. The agreement, known as the Liptako-Gourma Agreement, was signed by the military leaders of the three countries on Saturday, and according to the transitional president of Mali, Assimi Goita, establishes the Union of Sahel States (AES). "Today I have signed with the heads of the countries of Burkina Faso and Niger the Liptako-Gourma agreement that starts the Union of Sahel Countries, with the aim of establishing a system of joint defense and mutual support," Goita said on the X social network platform, in the past known as Twitter. Mali's Defense Minister Abdoulaye Diop has told reporters that the alliance will be a combination of military and economic efforts between the three countries. Transitional President of Mali, Assimi Goita "Any attack against the authority and land of one or more parties entering into this agreement will be considered as aggression against other parties and there is an obligation to help each other ... including the use of weapons to restore and ensure security," the agreement said.

The three countries that are former French colonies have been run by military regimes since 2020 and the agreement has come amid strong feelings against France in the three countries. The Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, the West African regional bloc, has threatened military intervention in Niger to overthrow the country's military government that came to power after a coup in July. The heads of Mali and Burkina Faso previously said they consider any attack against Niger as a "declaration of war" against them as well. The agreement on Saturday also binds the signatories to pool their resources together in the fight against terrorism in the three countries. Also on Saturday, thousands of people protested in front of the military base that houses French soldiers in the capital of Niger, Niamey, asking them to leave the West African country.