The three nations that make up the Alliance of Sahel States are home to terror groups that threaten to spread into the coastal countries along the Gulf of Guinea.
Experts say the best way to prevent the spread is to rebuild counterterrorism relationships between the alliance (AES) — comprised of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — and their southern neighbors in the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS). The alliance broke away from ECOWAS in January 2025 following a series of coups driven by a surge in violent extremism.
Since then, the alliance and ECOWAS have struggled to overcome mistrust, leaving the broader region open to the potential spread of terrorist groups such as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
“The current diplomatic tension between AES and ECOWAS countries makes it increasingly difficult to exchange intelligence and conduct joint patrols,” Bakary Sambe, the regional director of the Sahel-based Timbuktu Institute, recently told Benin Intelligent. “And yet, these countries would do well to work together, despite their diplomatic differences.”
In a region plagued by porous borders, the coastal ECOWAS members continue to defend their citizens against violence and threats seeping into their countries from the alliance countries. The threats run from northeastern Côte d’Ivoire to northwestern Nigeria.
“Given the regional nature of the terror threat, ECOWAS and AES countries must try to work together,” researcher Jeannine Ella Abatan recently wrote for the Institute for Security Studies.
Regional counterterrorism efforts are complicated by the fact that terrorists frequently use border areas such as the international W-Arly, Pendjari wildlife park complex as cover for their activities. The complex straddles the borders between Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger.
In recent years, Benin has increased its military presence along its northern border to fend off potential terrorist activity. Despite that, the country experienced the deadliest terror attack in its history in early January when JNIM killed 30 Soldiers at a base near the junction with Burkina Faso and Niger.
“People in Benin are also victims of terrorism,” Eric Tevoedjre, a political scientist form Benin, told ADF in an email. “This is why it makes sense for ECOWAS to work more closely with AES.”
ECOWAS members have begun making inroads with the alliance individually. Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has appointed a former national security chief as envoy to the alliance in January.
Senegal’s president appointed his own envoy to the alliance in 2024. That same year, ECOWAS appointed representatives of Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo to lead efforts to redevelop relations between ECOWAS and the alliance. Togo’s own relations with the alliance countries include helping to release of Ivoirian Soldiers held by Mali in 2023. Togo also was the lone ECOWAS country to take part in military exercises in Niger between armies of the alliance countries and Chad.
Nigeria’s recent decision to declare the Lakurawa group a terrorist organization added a new wrinkle to West Africa’s counterterrorism efforts. Lakurawa operates in northwest Nigeria and in bordering areas of Niger near Benin.
“Collaboration is key to preventing the Benin, Niger and Nigeria border area from becoming a terror epicenter,” Abatan wrote.
But collaboration will depend on the two blocs finding a way to mend their fences and put away their differences in service of the common goal of reining in terrorism, according to Abatan. “The success of these efforts will depend on whether the AES and ECOWAS can maintain dialogue and coordinate security and development efforts.”