Sudan: after Mali, the military junta strengthens relations with Niger

© Agenzia Nova

The deputy commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, General Shams al Din Kabbashi, and the Nigerian military leader and transitional president, Omar Tchiani, met in Niamey

The military juntas in power in Sudan and Niger have agreed to work together on the positions to be held at the tables of regional and international organizations, with particular attention to those of Africa. In a statement, the Sudanese Sovereign Council reported the contents of the meeting held in Niamey between the deputy commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), General Shams al Din Kabbashi, and the Nigerian military leader and transitional president, Omar Chiani. According to the source, the parties discussed the situation in Sudan, the conflict that has been ongoing for over a year between the SAF and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the common challenges to be faced in the region, including terrorism and organized crime in the Sahel and Sudan. General Tchiani hoped that stability could soon be restored in Sudan and expressed Niger's willingness to cooperate with Khartoum to address common difficulties.

The visit of the Sudanese general Kabbashi to Sudan follows by a few hours that made to Mali, where he met the general and transition president Assimi Goita. Here too, the representatives of the two military juntas have activated a bilateral cooperation protocol which will also include the opening of a Sudanese embassy in Bamako and the resumption of the activities of the Malian consulate in Sudan. According to a circular from the Sudanese Sovereign Council, the two authorities agreed to establish bilateral cooperation in the political, economic and cultural spheres and signed two memorandums of understanding between their respective ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs. In the meeting held to discuss the agreement, Kabbashi and Goita also addressed aspects of cooperation between Sudan and other Sahel countries in the security sectors and in coordination on the positions to be held with regional and international organizations.

Since September 2023, the governments of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have organized themselves into the Alliance of Sahel Countries (Aes), an entity created with the aim of mutually defending themselves from the threats of terrorism but also of organizing themselves with greater economic autonomy by regional bodies. The next step was the withdrawal of the three countries from the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS). The Charter describes in detail the future relations between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, committing the three countries not to attack each other. Article 11 also keeps the door open to the membership of "any other State that shares the same geographical, political and socio-cultural realities" of the founding countries, in what appears to be a sort of African "Nato" with the aim of uniting forces against the various forms of terrorism active in the region. The reference goes in particular to the "armed rebellion", as specified in article 5 and also underlined to journalists by the Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, whose government has been committed since the end of August to countering the offensive of the Tuareg fighters united in the Coalition of Azawad (Cma) movements. They accuse the junta of having violated the peace agreement concluded in 2015 in Algiers with the then civilian government of Bamako, using the excuse of terrorism to reclaim territories claimed by them.

Source: https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/Sudan-after-Mali-the-military-junta-strengthens-relations-with-Niger/