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.

  • CarmineCatboy2 [he/him]
    ·
    3 days ago

    At first I considered that it would be very difficult to arrange the Sahel Allies into a single country, given that all three are operating via an interim military government and any sort of unification would require unifying said military hierarchies. But then I took a short look at the wikipedia page and then

    On 6 July 2024, the military leaders at a summit in Niamey, Niger, signed a confederation treaty to strengthen the existing mutual defense pact. The signing marked the conclusion of the first joint summit of the alliance.[19] Two significant outcomes of the summit were:

    1. The naming of Colonel Assimi Goita, head of state of Mali, as president of the new confederation, for a period of one year.
    1. The 25 point AES communique of Saturday, July 6th 2024.

    There's a long way between confederation and federation, but if they can agree to let Mali preside over the confederation for a year then maybe they can agree to something more binding in the future.

    • asante [comrade/them]
      ·
      3 days ago

      At first I considered that it would be very difficult to arrange the Sahel Allies into a single country, given that all three are operating via an interim military government and any sort of unification would require unifying said military hierarchies.

      that's what i thought too. not a good idea in the short-term when it comes to unifying state structures like that

      There's a long way between confederation and federation, but if they can agree to let Mali preside over the confederation for a year then maybe they can agree to something more binding in the future.

      yeah they're making more progress than other unification projects i've seen (eg East African Federation) and that's great!

  • qcop [they/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.

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

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

    • bbnh69420 [she/her, they/them]
      ·
      3 days ago

      If the choice is between your former colonizers and the people fighting them, you will choose the latter

    • 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.

  • SkingradGuard [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    3 days ago

    Is that last part about being linked to fundamentalists just a slander by the Western media because they dare go against imperialism?