The Alliance of Sahel States (; AES) is a mutual defense pact created between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso on 16 September 2023. The pact was created during the 2023 Nigerien crisis, in which the West African political bloc ECOWAS threatened to intervene militarily to restore civilian rule after a coup in Niger earlier that year.
The alliance's stated goal is to protect against possible threats of armed rebellion or external aggression, emphasizing that "any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one or more contracted parties will be considered an aggression against the other parties".
Background
The Sahel region has been the site of an ongoing jihadist insurgency since 2003, which has led to many conflicts in the region, such as the Mali War and the Boko Haram insurgency. All three member states have had their pro-Western governments overthrown by their militaries, and each is ruled by a junta as part of the Coup Belt.
In the 2021 Malian coup d'état, Assimi Goïta and the National Committee for the Salvation of the People seized power in Mali taking over from Bah Ndaw who himself came to power in the 2020 Malian coup d'état overthrowing the last democratically elected President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
Just months later, in the 2021 Guinean coup d'état the National Committee of Reconciliation and Development installed Mamady Doumbouya as the new president, overthrowing the elected Alpha Condé.
Burkina Faso's military overthrew their existing military government in the September 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état, installing Ibrahim Traoré over Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba who came to power in the January 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état which toppled the democratic government of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
Most recently the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland has overthrown the elected government of Niger's Mohamed Bazoum, installing Abdourahamane Tchiani and a new junta in the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état.
All three of the alliance's member states are suspended members of ECOWAS; following the coup in Niger, ECOWAS has threatened to intervene militarily and restore President Bazoum's government, resulting in the 2023 Nigerien crisis. The Nigerien government has the backing of Mali and Burkina Faso, which promised military aid to Niger in the event of an intervention, and Guinea, which has been offering diplomatic support. The promises of military aid resulted in the creation of AES as a mutual defense block for the three nations in an attempt to stave off an ECOWAS intervention.