On 16 September 2023, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States (Alliance des États du Sahel – AES), a defence pact originally thought to back up the threat of retaliation against the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) if it militarily intervened in Niger following the coup. This was followed up with a more formal announcement on 8 February to leave the regional bloc, with accusations of the bloc having ‘lost its way’. Even more recently, in February, the group shared plans to create a tri-state confederation.
