Anti-junta Movements in the Sahel Forge Ties

Kicking off on August 25th, a four-day meeting between the leaders of Mali's Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA) and the Commander-in-Chief of Niger's Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL), held in Tinzaouaten, Mali, sought to discuss the creation of a mutual assistance pact "in the event of aggression by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)."

The FPL, formed in July 2023 following the ousting of civilian President Mohamed Bazoum in a military coup led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who now heads the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), the nations ruling military junta. Seeking to return the country to civilian rule, the FPL has engaged in negotiations with emissaries from the CNSP as well as its adversaries, such as the CSP-DPA.

Forming part of the Alliance of Sahel States alongside Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger, denounced recent acts of 'terrorism' committed by CSP-DPA-aligned fighters against the Malian military junta as well as their alleged Ukrainian backers during the battle of Tinzaouaten, near the Algerian border.

Since then, the Malian junta has conducted several rounds of aerial and drone strikes on the commune and its surrounds, killing just 7 CSP-DPA fighters and dozens of civilians, including children.