Media Wire Express Correspondent
The leaders of the three West African military governments are meeting together for the first time to cement an alliance created against opposition from neighboring countries Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
All three countries that now form the Alliance of Sahel States have suffered from jihadist violence.
At Saturday’s meeting in Nigeria’s capital Niamey, the heads of the three countries are expected to officially establish an alliance known by the French acronym AES.
The talks are being conducted by Niger’s leader, General Abdourahmane Chiani, joined by Burkina Faso’s captain Ibrahim Traore and Mali’s Colonel Asimi Goita.
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Captain Traore arrived in Niamey the day before the meeting and was greeted with an enthusiastic reception. Among them was Sidi Mohamed, head of the National Youth Council.
«Today, as Africans, we are very proud that this summit is an African summit, a summit at which states decided to pool their energy, join forces to create an alliance for their development, without any foreign stakeholders, without any colleagues from the forces that are accustomed to us to rule», — he told reporters.
Presidents of the wider West African bloc will have the opportunity to respond at a meeting of heads of state in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Sunday.
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