The

Liptako Liptako is an historic region of West Africa. It today falls in eastern Burkina Faso, southwestern Niger and a small portion of southeast central Mali. A hilly region beginning on the right back of the Niger river, Liptako is usually associated wi ...

–

Gourma Gurma (also called Gourma or Gourmantché) is an ethnic group living mainly in northeastern Ghana, Burkina Faso, around Fada N'Gourma, and also in northern areas of Togo and Benin, as well as southwestern Niger. They might include the Bassar ...

Authority (, also known as ALG) is a regional organization seeking to develop the contiguous areas of

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. Created in December 1970, the Authority has as its goal the promotion of the area's mineral, energy, hydraulic, and agricultural resources within a regional framework. The zone covered by the authority corresponds to the border regions of the three countries, and covers an area of 370,000 km², including 19 provinces of Burkina Faso, 4 administrative regions of Mali, and two departments and an urban community of Niger. This zone is composed entirely of the semi-arid

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

region. The dominant economic activity is agriculture and livestock herding, but the zone has considerable energy, hydraulic, and mining potential.

Joint military task force

On 24 January 2017, the three states agreed to form a joint task force to combat insecurity and terrorism in the region, to be headquartered in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

, with rotating leadership to represent all three nations. The task force was created as a subordinate unit of the multinational force of the

G5 Sahel G5 Sahel or G5S () is an institutional framework for coordination of regional cooperation in development policies and security matters in west Africa. It was created on 16 February 2014 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, at a summit of five Sahel countri ...

countries, which includes

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

and

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

as well as the three countries of the Liptako-Gourma Authority. The move was modeled on the establishment of a multi-national force in 2015 by

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, Niger and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

to oppose

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

in the

Lake Chad basin The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Africa, centered approximately on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of semi-arid desert and savanna. The drainage basin is approximately coterminous with the sedimenta ...

. A mutual defense pact known as the

Alliance of Sahel States The Alliance of Sahel States (, AES) is a confederation formed between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. It originated as a mutual defense pact created on 16 September 2023 following the 2023 Nigerien crisis, in which the West African political bl ...

was formed by the three states on 16 September 2023 during the

2023 Nigerien crisis 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

to help against possible threats of armed rebellion or external aggression while

ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...

threatens to intervene against the coup in Niger.

References

External links

Website of the Liptako-Gourma Authority
Liptako Supranational unions Economy of Niger Foreign relations of Niger Economy of Mali Foreign relations of Mali Economy of Burkina Faso Foreign relations of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso–Niger relations 1970 establishments in Africa Organizations established in 1970 {{econ-org-stub

Joint military task force

See also

References

External links