Sahel countries launch a joint battalion to fight armed groups as they boost ties with Russia amid vulnerable security situation. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have announced the launch of a joint military battalion aimed at fighting armed groups across the Sahel, one of Africa's poorest and most volatile regions. The initiative was announced at the end of the two-day Alliance of Sahel States (AES) summit in the Malian capital, Bamako, as the three countries struggle to improve the security situation amid rising attacks from separatist groups as well as armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
In a statement on Monday evening, the breakaway Alliance of Sahel States (AES), of which Burkina Faso is a member alongside Mali and Niger, said the C-130 transport aircraft had made an emergency landing in Bobo Dioulasso. In the statement, Assimi Goita, the Malian junta president and leader of the AES, called the landing an unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law. He directed the authorities in the member countries to act to neutralise any aircraft that would violate the confederal space in future.
JNIM is one of several armed groups operating in West Africa and the Sahel. It previously said it aims to establish an Islamic caliphate while expelling Western-influenced governments. Formed in 2017, the group's operations initially started in Mali before they spread to Burkina Faso and parts of Niger. JNIM has also launched attacks in the northernmost regions of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin and Togo. Recently in Mali, JNIM declared a blockade on fuel imported from neighbouring countries.