Burkina Faso and Niger, two countries affected by jihadist violence from northern Mali in 2013, invited Bamako to “come back to take responsibility”, within the framework of sub-regional cooperation in the fight against jihadism. In mid-May, the transitional authorities in Mali, prevented from assuming the presidency, decided to withdraw from the G5 Sahel and its joint force, a military alliance fighting against jihadist groups, citing a “Autonomy loss” and “an instrumentalization” within the regional organization formed with Mauritania, Chad, Burkina and Niger.
“We have analyzed our strengths and our weaknesses. Our strengths are cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Our weakness is that we have taken time to organize ourselves, to prepare ourselves to respond. time that has been lost has allowed our enemies to strengthen and organize themselves”
Alkassoum Indattou, Minister of Defense of NigerFaso
“We reviewed (…) the sub-regional situation and we thought that Mali (…) is today the great absentee from cooperation in the field of defence”, said Niger’s Defense Minister, Alkassoum Indattou. “We have to work so that Mali can come back and assume its responsibilities and play its role”, he insisted. Alkassoum Indattou, accompanied by his counterpart, the Burkinabè Minister of Defence, General Barthélemy Simporé, spoke after a meeting with the president of the transition in Burkina Faso, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo.
With the MDN in Ouagadougou, since this morning as part of a working mission, the CEMA is accompanied by the Head of the Operations Office, the Head of the Center for Planning and Conduct of Operations and the Chief of Tactical Staff of the operation #NIYA. pic.twitter.com/kqcNpev0vu
— Nigerien Armed Forces (@ArmeesNiger) August 22, 2022
“Military cooperation with Niger is a model. For several years, we have maintained an excellent relationship of friendship and cooperation, which has been strengthened in the context of the fight against terrorism. For several years, we have been carrying out operations joint with Niger that we baptize “Operation Taanli”. We have already had several editions and others which are in planning”, confirm it Burkinabè Minister of Defense, Barthélemy Simporé. From April 2 to 25, soldiers from both armies conducted a joint operation called Taanli 3,“alliance” Where “cohesion”in the Gulmacéma language spoken in the east of Burkina Faso, making it possible to neutralize “one hundred terrorists”according to the two staff.
Burkina Faso and its neighbor Niger have been facing regular and deadly jihadist attacks for several years attributed to jihadist groups affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) organization and Al-Qaeda. They caused thousands of deaths in both countries and hundreds of thousands of displaced people fleeing their homes.