Sahel Rivals: Niger and Mali Accuse Neighboring Countries of Sponsoring Terrorism
In a sharply worded address at a regional security forum in Senegal on Monday, April 21, the foreign ministers of Niger and Mali accused neighboring countries of sponsoring terrorist groups operating against their governments — escalating already tense relations within West Africa’s volatile Sahel region.
The accusations came at a gathering in Diamniadio, Senegal, convened to discuss regional security architecture. But rather than building bridges, they underscored the deepening fractures that have come to define the region’s politics since Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to form their own bloc — the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop was specific about his grievances — but deliberately vague about targets. “There are neighbouring countries that are currently harbouring terrorist groups, supporting terrorist groups, or frequently receiving hostile forces that carry out operations against us,” Diop told Reuters on the sidelines of the forum. He declined to name which neighbors he meant but pointed to foreign powers outside the region as co-conspirators.
Diop went further, claiming that Ukrainian mercenaries had carried out attacks in Mali — an apparent reference to claims made by a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) regarding fighting in northern Mali in 2024. Ukraine has denied any involvement and denied supplying drones to Malian rebels.
Niger’s Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare was equally pointed, telling the forum that countries seeking to cooperate with Niger on counterterrorism were simultaneously “fuelling, financing and sustaining” terrorism in the country. In a subsequent interview with Reuters, Sangare identified France as the country he was referring to — a remarkable accusation given France’s long history of military engagement in the Sahel before being expelled from multiple AES countries.
The bloc’s current chairman, Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, appealed to AES states to re-engage with the regional organization. But Mali’s Diop dismissed the overture firmly: “Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, politically speaking, have withdrawn from ECOWAS. Our withdrawal is final.”
Nevertheless, Diop left the door open for limited cooperation on issues like freedom of movement and trade — a pragmatic acknowledgment that the AES states remain economically integrated with the wider region whether they like it or not.
The deeper context is more than political theater. All three AES states have been battling jihadist insurgencies for more than a decade. The departures from ECOWAS severed intelligence-sharing channels and disrupted coordinated counterterrorism operations that the bloc had facilitated.
Whether Monday’s accusations are genuine assessments of regional dynamics or political posturing aimed at domestic audiences ahead of anniversaries of military coups remains unclear. But they make harder the already difficult task of coordinating a response to an insurgency that respects no borders.