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 Diop asserted that neighboring countries are not only sponsoring terrorism, but harbouring terrorist groups. While not specifically naming the referenced state, the presence of foreign powers in the Sahel was noted, accusing Ukrainian mercenaries of an attack despite Ukraine claiming this is a false accusation. Speaking at the same forum, Niger’s Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangaré expressed that many states, later directly naming France, who seek to cooperate on counterterrorism efforts are simultaneously contributing to the existence and growth of terrorism in the region.
Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, has stated that there was over 450 attacks and over 1,900 terrorism-related deaths in the region last year. According to the 2025 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), the Sahel accounted for 19% of all terrorist attacks and 51% of global terrorism related deaths. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a consensus-based, unified regional response that would allow ECOWAS, AES, Mauritania, Chad, and Algeria to rebuild trust after deep political tensions in order to coordinate counterterrorism responses. Guterres noted that a coherent strategy is required to address the root causes of extremism including the social fractures that terrorist groups prey on to expand influence. Chairman of the ECOWAS, Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, expanded on this statement expressing that a lack of decisive action would enable the Sahel to become a permanent extremist sanctuary. Further, tensions between Mali and Mauritania have been recently high causing potential interference with regional action on the subject.
The accusations made without direct state reference creates a volatile anonymity, further heightening tensions. An increase in tension will prohibit regional cooperation from occurring. While the accusations may hold truth, a public statement maintaining the anonymity of a state rather than addressing the issue through diplomatic means contributes to the fragmentation that terrorism thrives within. The growth of terrorism sees great civilian consequences which will worsen the already growing humanitarian crisis in the Sahel. The rise of violence and instability in the region displaced nearly 5 million people in 2025, with 2.1 million people alone in that group coming from Burkina Faso. The AES’ expressed willingness to cooperate must be acted on and enforced through diplomatic channels without reference to vague and inflammatory statements that create minimal space for cooperation.
For over a decade, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have faced jihadist insurgencies. All three states are led by military governments who seized power by coups and later broke away from ECOWAS to establish the AES. Five of the ten countries in the world that are most affected by terrorism are within the Sahel but international cooperation efforts are struggling to occur. While many UN delegations, such as the United Kingdom, emphasized that it is necessary that African-led counterterrorism efforts are supported, an increased Russian presence and alignment by AES through their Africa Corps is causing hesitation.
The security forum meeting in Senegal, while representing the consistent cause of lackluster counterterrorism cooperation in the region through accusatorial tension, equally presents the opportunity from the statement on behalf of the AES in which they expressed willingness to cooperate with ECOWAS. The UN has appealed for a $4.9 billion humanitarian aid package though the region remains deeply underfunded. This opportunity to cooperate will allow further negotiation on this topic and ultimately will work to hinder the growth of terrorism while saving civilian lives in the process of addressing where extremism derives. Active movement towards security will fail if the opportunity presented is not acted upon, thus making way for global instability through the expansion of extremist ideals worldwide.
