The military leaders who rule Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have formed a new coalition called the Sahel States' Alliance.
All of them have come to power through coups in recent years and have directed strong criticism towards the West and especially France, which they believe has too much influence in the West African region.
The meeting of the leaders in the new coalition is the first top-level meeting since all of them earlier this year left the West African cooperative organization Ecowas, which has reacted strongly against the coups and tried to influence the development with, among other things, sanctions.
The Sahel States' Alliance was formed last year, but the cooperation agreement between the three countries was signed on Saturday.
Our people have irreversibly turned their backs on Ecowas, says Niger's ruling general, Abdourahamane Tiani, to his colleagues: Burkina Faso's Ibrahim Traoré and Mali's Assimi Goïta, at the opening of the top-level meeting in Niger's capital Niamey.
