On April 21st, 2026, at a security forum in Senegal, the foreign ministers of Niger and Mali accused their neighboring countries in the Sahel of sponsoring terrorism while expressing a willingness to cooperate with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), an African regional economic bloc, on certain matters despite their exit last year to join the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). At this forum, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye