Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are proceeding with the formation of a tripartite union. Neighboring countries in the impoverished Sahel region announced last January that they would withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) The countries did not reveal the details of how the proposed union would work or the extent of the closeness of the planned coordination.
It is considered that this alliance may be used to justify the use of armed force against any political or armed force that desires the return of the ousted democratic regimes in these three countries.