The Digest:
The Alliance of Sahel States has instructed its members, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, to “neutralise” any aircraft that violates its airspace, following the forced landing of a Nigerian Air Force plane in Burkina Faso. Rooted in the storm of regional tension, the directive escalates sovereignty concerns amid heightened military alertness.
Key Points
- The AES, comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, issued the authorisation late Monday.
- The order followed a Nigerian Air Force C-130 entering Burkinabe airspace without clearance.
- The aircraft was on a mission related to the foiled Benin coup when it made an emergency landing.
- AES leader Assimi Goïta called the intrusion an “unfriendly act in defiance of international law.”
- Nigerian presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said the mission was at Benin’s request for aerial surveillance.
- It remains unclear whether the Nigerian jet’s mission extended into Burkina Faso airspace.
- The AES has placed air defense systems across the confederation on maximum alert
As regional blocs harden their skies, a single unauthorized flight becomes more than a mishap; it is a spark in a landscape where every border is now a front line.
Sources: AES Statement, The Cable
