The Alliance of Sahel States comprised of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have rejected the timeline issues by the Economic Community of West African States claiming it is a scheme to destabilize their newfound entity.
At a summit held a week ago in Abuja, Nigeria, the regional organization announced a six-month withdrawal period to allow the three countries to reconsider their decision after their official departure date at the end of January 2025.
But according to the AES heads of state, this decision is nothing more than yet another attempt by the French and its auxiliaries to continue planning and carrying out destabilizing actions against the AES.
Their communiqué adds that this unilateral decision is not binding on the ESA countries, adding that they had already indicated before the summit that their decision to leave the organization.