The military who seized power in Niger almost a month ago, on July 26, announced Thursday that they have authorized the Armed Forces of two neighboring states, Burkina Faso and Mali, to intervene on their territory in the event of an attack.

The Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso and Mali, Olivia Rwaba and Abdoulaye Diop respectively, visited Niamey yesterday where they were received by Niger’s new strongman, General Abduraman Chiani.

They hailed the signing of decrees authorizing the defence and security forces of Burkina Faso and Mali to intervene in Niger’s territory in the event of an attack, according to a press release read by Oumaru Ibrahim Sidi, Deputy Secretary-General of Niger’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two countries, just like Niger, have been facing repeated and bloody jihadist attacks in recent years, and are also ruled by the military, following coups between 2020 and 2022.

Immediately after the July coup in Niamey, they expressed their solidarity with Niger’s new authorities, especially when the Economic Community of West African States (CEDEAO in French, ECOWAS in English) threatened military intervention to restore constitutional order.

Ouagadougou and Bamako then warned CEDEAO that they would regard any intervention in Niger as a declaration of war against them, which was repeated by their Foreign Ministers yesterday.

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