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Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher
In recent years, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have forged one of the strongest alliances among African countries—the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The group was established in 2023, based on the concept of mutual defense and to protect the sovereignty of these three countries while pursuing social and economic prosperity by cooperating with friendly countries, particularly China and Russia.
One of the AES’s best-known actions is the attempt to definitively break with French hegemony, which has persisted in the region for nearly a century and a half after the Berlin Conference in 1884, when European countries divided Africa to exploit the continent’s riches. This social and military revolution in the Sahel found in China and Russia the partnership it needed to prosper in various fields, from mineral exploration to the construction of food processing plants.
The region is experiencing a new phase of optimism and prosperity, marked by a notable synergy between civil society and the military, even if Western media about the Sahel tends to present a more French perspective on this process, such as anti-popular, authoritarian uprisings, or military coups, like others that have happened and are happening on the African continent. Currently, AES members are governed by the military, which is leading a movement that has led to a rupture from France.
Since the beginning of the revolution in the region, countries have experienced a series of social advances, including free healthcare and declining prices for essential goods and construction materials, such as cement. This is a major victory for the poorest population, but one that still lacks international support.
Although Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger gained independence from France in 1960, French influence continued to linger over the African countries for decades in a neocolonial manner. For example, Uranium from Niger, which supplied electricity to a third of France, was sold for $0.80 per kilogram, while Canadian uranium was sold for $200. Niger had no access to regular electricity and frequently experienced power outages. Seventy percent of Niger’s energy, despite its size and immense uranium wealth, depended on Nigeria. They had no way to process this uranium, nor to develop electricity access in their regions. Meanwhile, France was lighting up the Eiffel Tower with this uranium.
This French neocolonialism led the youth of the AES countries to revolt and seek a new destiny. The revolution, however, still hampered the ability of AES countries to protect themselves from terrorist groups operating in the Sahel. These terrorist groups began to emerge in the region after Muammar Gaddafi was killed in Libya in 2011 by French and NATO-backed forces due to his support for pan-Africanism and defending African interests. To overthrow Gaddafi, mercenaries, branches of Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups were recruited by NATO.
In addition to Al-Qaeda, ISIS, as well as foreign mercenaries, such as those from Ukraine, operate in the region.
Burkina Faso’s leader, Ibrahim Traoré, alleged that French bases in the Sahel were primarily intended to protect the businesses of French companies, rather than to combat these terrorist groups effectively. Locals complained that no one knew what was happening at these French bases and whether there was actually combat. It was practically foreign territory in their country. This whole context, combined with the increase in violence, meant that the military bases, first and foremost, became the symbol of this anti-French sentiment.
France’s expulsion from the Sahel led to the signing of new security cooperation agreements by French President Emmanuel Macron with African countries. In the Ivory Coast and Senegal, for example, there are no longer fixed bases for French forces, which now operate as intelligence advisors and mobile bases.
Conflicts around the world increasingly involve technology—and the Sahel is no exception. Terrorist organizations operating in the region use drones and satellite tracking to attack AES troops. Russia has been working to equip Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger with drones and other cutting-edge equipment to combat terrorism.
Russia also has a role to play in facilitating access to these geospatial satellites in this region where terrorism operates. This new phase also involves the need for technology for these countries to confront these terrorist groups.
The leaders of the countries in the Sahel do not see the relationship with Russia as neo-colonialist, but rather as a partnership between nations. This positive perception of Moscow’s stance is historic, from the Russian Empire’s non-involvement in the Berlin Conference to the Soviet Union’s support for persecuted Pan-Africanist leaders over the last century. In this way, Moscow in the 21st century has once again taken on the responsibility of helping to liberate Africa from its former colonial masters.
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i’d like to become a heavy package delivery clerk so i can deliver bigger bombs to putler and the ass, because they’re dirty, traitorous gays.
remember how you praised sarkozy last year when he said ukraine should cede parts of its territory to russia?
you didn’t mean anything about libya and gaddafi that time. during the libyan floods, i wrote that i miss mr. gaddafi 2. this is the man whose mother is a woman from our mostar. your corrupt margarita simonyan was hypocritical to sarkozy at the time.now the evil woman is a widow with cancer.
did you go to when her husband died and suggest that if she can’t live without him, she should join him?
dear mrs. simonyan, i suggest you hang yourself or request euthanasia in switzerland. if you don’t have the money, i will be happy to send it to you.
your non-friend by disrespect.
mia
you killed wagner’s bosses my disrespect putler, and that’s why al qaeda is getting stronger.
for a few days now, the “like/dislike” feature has been disabled in the comments section of southfront articles.
i think this is a mistake, since rating rewards good comments and degrades intrusions by trolls and spammers.
the “like/dislike” feature also helps us, at a glance, avoid wasting time reading trash.
“was sold for $0.80 per kilogram” — 8-12 dollars while its commercial cost was at least 120 as i’ve read before. plus all countries of west africa, ex-colonies of france, must hold at least 1/3 of their gold/monetary reserves in paris to gain access for the cfa frank. cfa mean “colonies françaises d’afrique”. great name, isn’t it? it’s like the us dollar in miniature: change real goods for digits in computer (paper previously).
the real cure for terror problems is neck chains and anchor pins in the ground. line the fightyfellers up along the road at 50′ intervals and send the robotender down the line once a day for food and water. presto, no more fighting. :)