Burkina Faso and Mali did not send representatives to a continental military meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday.
This absence highlights the ongoing tension between the junta-led Sahel countries and their West African neighbors.
Niger, also a member of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), was the only country from the alliance to send a representative, who was identified as Colonel Major Soumana Kalkoye.
The AES was formed by Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso after they withdrew from the regional bloc ECOWAS in January to better address their long-running jihadist insurgencies.
The conference, which Nigerian authorities billed as the first of its kind, brought together high-ranking defense officers from across Africa to discuss “collective strategies” and find “homegrown solutions to Africa’s defence needs.”
Nigerian Chief of the Defence Staff Christopher Musa spoke about security challenges that “recognise no borders” and called for “a new architecture of African-led security cooperation.”
He also told the officers that “True security is not achieved in isolation.”
Relations between Niger and Nigeria, which hit a low after the 2023 coup in Niger, have since improved.
The two countries signed a security memorandum last year, but Niger’s withdrawal from a regional military task force has hampered cross-border action against militants.
The military cooperation of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso with other neighboring countries, like Benin, has also stalled as the region attempts to push back against the spread of armed groups.
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