Burkina Faso and Mali were absent from a high-level African defence summit hosted by Nigeria on Monday, underscoring their strained ties with regional partners.
The two Sahel nations, both under military rule, withdrew from the West African bloc ECOWAS earlier this year alongside Niger, opting instead to form their own Alliance of Sahel States (AES). At the Abuja talks, only Niger was represented, with its defence attaché Colonel Major Soumana Kalkoye attending on behalf of the AES.
The conference, billed by Nigeria as the first continent-wide meeting of African defence chiefs, drew senior military leaders from across the continent, stretching from Djibouti to Namibia. Nigerian authorities said the goal was to develop “collective strategies” and advance “homegrown solutions” to Africa’s security challenges.
The absence of Mali and Burkina Faso highlights the widening rift between the AES countries and other African states, as insurgencies and political instability continue to shape security debates in the Sahel and beyond.