About the Liptako-Gourma Charter:
- The Liptako-Gourma Charter establishes the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
- Its aim is to "establish an architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance for the benefit of the population.
- This alliance will be a combination of military and economic efforts between the three countries.
- The charter binds the signatories to assist one another, including militarily — in the event of an attack on any one of them.
- It also binds the three countries to work to prevent or settle armed rebellions.
Liptako-Gourma region
- It is the region where the Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger borders meet.
- It has been ravaged by jihadist insurgency in recent years.
Key points about Alliance of Sahel States
- The junta leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger signed a charter to establish a defence alliance known as the Alliance of Sahel States.
- Under this alliance, any attack on one or more signatory states will be considered an attack on all signatories.
- The alliance between three West African states, all ruled by military juntas and former French colonies.
- These three countries were also members of the France-supported G5 Sahel alliance joint force, with Chad and Mauritania being the other two allies.
