BAMAKO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will introduce new biometric passports as part of their withdrawal from a West African bloc in favour of a new Sahel alliance after military leaders seized power in all three countries, Mali's leader said on Sunday.

The three junta-led Sahel neighbours jointly announced in January they would leave the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has sought to persuade them to reconsider their decision.

Burkina Faso announced earlier this month that it was rolling out new passports without the ECOWAS logo.

"In the coming days, a new biometric passport of the AES (Alliance of Sahel States) will be put into circulation with the aim of harmonising travel documents in our common area and facilitating the mobility of our citizens throughout the world", Malian junta leader Assimi Goita announced on Sunday evening.

He spoke ahead of a meeting Monday between the three countries' foreign ministers on the anniversary of the decision to form their own alliance. Goita also said they were planning to launch a shared information channel "in order to promote a harmonious dissemination of information in our three states."

ECOWAS has warned that the three countries' withdrawal would undermine the freedom of movement and common market of the 400 million people living in the 49-year-old bloc.

Their departure comes as their armies battle groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, whose insurgencies have destabilised the region over the past decade and threaten to spill over into coastal West African states.

  • asante [comrade/them]
    ·
    3 days ago

    I have to admit I know nothing of the geopolitical situation there, but I always had a soft spot for Burkina Faso ever since I learned about Thomas Sankara.

    yeah that guy's a fucking legend

    Apart from telling France imperialism to fuck off, which is a good thing, do we know more about their plan for the future confederation?

    source:

    The confederation's stated goal is to pool resources to build energy and communications infrastructure, establish a common market, implement a monetary union under proposed currency the Sahel, allow free movement of persons, enable industrialization, and invest in agriculture, mines and energy sectors, with the end goal of federalizing into a single sovereign state.

    this article talk has a lot of info

    African Stream did some local interviews with activists in the Sahel, but their youtube channel was removed and idk where those videos are now. this is their website.

    On the other hand having a fascist private group (to my knowledge) like Wagner there to help you ensure security, sucks.

    definitely. still actively supporting the ethnic cleansing and genocide the RSF has been committing in Sudan too.