Question:
The leaders of the military councils in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali announced on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at a summit held in Niamey, the capital of Niger, the signing of a confederation agreement. Is there an international power behind this announcement? If so, which country are they showing loyalty to? Or is this confederation a self-initiated action? Thank you very much.
Answer:
To clarify the answer, we review the following matters:
1- These three countries, following the coups that occurred between 2020 and 2023, have become loyal to America and act upon its orders! We clarified this in our answers to questions: September 1, 2020, regarding the Mali coup led by Assimi Goïta; February 7, 2023, regarding the Burkina Faso coup led by Ibrahim Traoré; and August 15, 2023, regarding the Niger coup led by Abdourahamane Tchiani. These three regions are Islamic lands:
a- As for Mali: It is an Islamic land; Islam reached it in the eleventh century, and Islam remains the dominant religion in Mali. About 90% of Malians are Muslims, about 5% are Christians, and about 5% follow other religions. The capital is Bamako.
b- As for Burkina Faso: It is a country in West Africa and is an Islamic land. According to the 2006 census, more than 60.5% of its population are Muslims, and about 23% are Christians, followed by other traditions. Its area is 274,200 km², its population is 21,510,181, its economy relies on agriculture, and the city of Ouagadougou is the most important city and the capital.
c- As for Niger: It is located in West Africa and was named Niger after the Niger River that flows through its lands. It is bordered by Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north, and Chad to the east. The total area of Niger is about 1,270,000 square kilometers. Niger is an Islamic land; Islam is the religion of the vast majority in Niger, with their percentage exceeding 99.3%. Islam spread in what is now Niger in the fifteenth century through the expansion of the Songhai Empire in the west and the influence of trans-Saharan trade coming from the Maghreb and Egypt. The capital is Niamey.
Thus, the coups that took place in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso between 2020 and 2023 were loyal to America and supported by it.
2- On September 16, 2023, the three countries established the "Alliance of Sahel States" (AES) to create a joint defense force against the potential threat of military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Niger. (The Malian President, Colonel Assimi Goïta, the Nigerien President, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, and the Burkinabe President, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, had signed a charter in September 2023, about which the Malian Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, said in a statement at the time: It "will be a combination of military and economic efforts between the three countries."
The joint charter signed by the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger on September 16, 2023, provides for the formation of the "Alliance of Sahel States." The founding charter of the alliance consists of 17 articles, the first of which names it the "Liptako-Gourma Charter," and states that "the contracting parties agreed among themselves to establish the Alliance of Sahel States, abbreviated as 'AES'," while the second article states that the objective of this charter is "to establish a structure for collective defense and mutual assistance for the contracting parties." Article 6 of the founding charter also states that "any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one of the parties is considered aggression against the others, which entails the obligation of mutual assistance, including the use of armed force to restore security." Article 11 of the charter states that "the alliance is open to every state that shares the same geographical, political, social, and cultural realities with the three countries and accepts the objectives of the alliance." (Al Jazeera Center for Studies, June 25, 2024).
It is clear from Articles 6 and 11 of this alliance formed by these three countries that the purpose of its establishment is to confront potential foreign military intervention, especially French intervention, through ECOWAS, and to stand militarily with one of them if subjected to a French external military strike. The other goal is to create a division within ECOWAS, as understood from the eleven articles, and to encourage countries under this group to join this alliance.
3- On July 6, 2024, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso announced the establishment of a confederation. The confederation agreement signed between these three countries on July 6, 2024, in Niamey, the capital of Niger, comes as a completion of the Alliance of Sahel States agreement signed at the first meeting. (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, located in the African Sahel region, announced today, Saturday, their unification within a "confederation." The three countries said, in a final statement during their first summit on Saturday in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, that their presidents "decided to cross an additional stage towards deeper integration between the member states. For this purpose, they adopted a treaty establishing a confederation between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger under the name of the Confederation of Sahel States"... Al-Ittihad UAE, July 6, 2024).
4- Despite the absence of direct American statements, all indicators point to America being behind the establishment of this "Confederation of Sahel States." On one hand, it wants it to be a fortress protecting its agents in these countries from ECOWAS sanctions, especially since the three countries are landlocked and lack access to the sea, which hinders their trade. On the other hand, it wants this to be a counter-alliance to ECOWAS, which is controlled by France and Britain. Indeed, the establishment of the confederation has generated a storm of criticism within ECOWAS, which is now facing calls for reform, as seen in the statements of the Senegalese President—meaning that the flow of countries from ECOWAS toward the "Confederation" has become possible.
5- Therefore, this confederation is not spontaneous; rather, it was established by America between these three loyal countries to preserve its colonies and to prevent European intervention, especially France, and its return to its colonies. The steps taken by these countries before the union confirm this, including:
a- Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from the G5 Sahel task force in November 2023. Mali also withdrew from the G5 Sahel task force in May 2022. (Burkina Faso and Niger announced on Saturday their withdrawal from the G5 Sahel group, a year and a half after Mali's withdrawal from the African grouping. According to a joint statement by the governments of Burkina Faso and Niger, published by the official Burkina Faso News Agency, "the decision is sovereign and comes after an in-depth evaluation of the group and its work." The statement added: "The G5 Sahel cannot serve foreign interests at the expense of the interests of the peoples of the Sahel, let alone accept the dictates of any power, whatever it may be, in the name of a misleading and infantile partnership that denies the right of sovereignty of our peoples and states. Therefore, Burkina Faso and Niger have clearly assumed historical responsibility by withdrawing from this organization"... Anadolu Agency, December 3, 2023). (Mali's military council announced in a statement on Sunday the country's withdrawal from a multinational military force in the West African Sahel region, formed to fight jihadists in 2014. The military council justified the withdrawal decision by not being allowed to chair the "G5 Sahel," where Bamako was supposed to host a conference for the leaders of these countries—Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Niger—in February 2022, under the pretext of internal instability in Mali, which witnessed a military coup through which the military council seized power... France24, May 16, 2022).
b- Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso each announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS in January 2024 in order to rid themselves of French influence and not allow it to intervene militarily under the pretext of fighting terrorism. (Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger decided on Sunday to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This came in a joint statement issued by the three Sahel countries, led by military councils and temporary transitional governments. The statement stated that the three countries would withdraw from ECOWAS, consisting of 15 members, "as soon as possible." It added that ECOWAS, accused of "being under the influence of foreign powers" and "betraying its principles," poses a "threat" to the three countries... Anadolu Agency, January 28, 2024).
6- All of this indicates that these three countries have withdrawn from all organizations subject to the influence and directives of France in order to get rid of French influence. It is unlikely that these countries would withdraw autonomously without American support, but rather by American order, as a prelude to establishing the confederation that America wanted to tear ECOWAS apart or weaken it, thereby shaking French influence or replacing it in those three important countries whose total population exceeds 70 million and which possess influential energy and mineral resources that French companies were exploiting! Furthermore, this "Confederation" and the tone of its leaders threaten to pull more countries out of the circle of French influence in the Sahel region, as those governments are extremely fragile due to French colonial looting and the extreme poverty it left behind, and because of the severe corruption rampant among the rulers. These new conditions tempt military officers with whom America connects through calls for "counter-terrorism," training, and military support. Overall, it can be said that the hardening of the leaders of the three countries against France represents the greatest threat facing French influence after it had been secure and stable for decades.
7- Thus, it becomes clear that the rulers of Islamic lands are transferring the dependency of the country from one colonizer to another. They turn their backs on France, which looted the wealth of Muslims, and turn toward America so that it too can loot that wealth, while Muslims remain in distress and poverty, as if Muslims are incapable of ruling their own countries. While this situation applies to all Muslim countries, it is more severe and profound in African countries. As the awareness of Muslims regarding their Deen increases and their certainty grows that adhering to it is the path to their salvation in this world and the hereafter, Muslims become closer to what pleases Allah Almighty. Their hatred for the Kafir colonizer who has wallowed and continues to wallow in the wealth of their lands—leaving them to struggle with poverty and need—will increase, and the determination and work of Muslims to establish their Deen and resume the Islamic way of life by establishing the Islamic State that unites the Muslims, the second Khilafah State on the method of Prophethood, will increase after this oppressive rule (Mulkan Jabriyyan) in which Muslims live. We are reassured, by Allah's permission, when we see that the cup has overflowed for Muslims and that they are now one step away from building the Islamic State, uniting the Islamic lands, and expelling all colonial Kafir countries from their lands, and even carrying guidance to those countries. And that is not difficult for Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said in the Hadith narrated by Ahmad from Hudhayfah (ra):
...ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مُلْكاً جَبْرِيَّةً فَتَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ ثُمَّ سَكَتَ
"…then there will be an oppressive rule, and it will last as long as Allah wills, then He will lift it when He wills, then there will be a Khilafah on the method of Prophethood. Then he (saw) remained silent."
18th of Muharram Al-Haram, 1446 AH July 24, 2024 AD