Assimi Goita, head of Mali's military junta
The Confederation of Sahel States (AES) says it has authorised its member states to neutralise any aircraft violating its airspace.
AES is an ECOWAS breakaway bloc made up of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Republic.
The directive came as the confederation accused an aircraft belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) of violating Burkina Faso’s airspace on December 8.
The aircraft had 11 Nigerian soldiers aboard.
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“In this regard, and on the instructions of the Heads of State, the Arian and anti-aircraft defences of the Confederal space put on maximum alert, in accordance with the Declaration of the College of Heads of State dated December 22, 2024, were authorised to neutralise any aircraft that would violate the confederal space,” the AES statement, signed late Monday by Assimi Goita, Mali junta leader, reads.
Goita called the said intrusion an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law”, adding that arrangements were being made to guarantee the security of the confederal airspace.
NAF had set out to Benin Republic on Sunday to rein in fleeing plotters of a failed coup.
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Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson, said President Bola Tinubu acted on two separate requests from Benin authorities.
One of the requests asked for aerial intelligence gathering and surveillance.
It is unclear if the mission stretched to Burkina Faso, which lies north-west of Benin Republic.
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