Alliance of Sahel States
The Alliance of Sahel States (French: Alliance des États du Sahel; AES), also known as the Confederation of Sahel States (French: Confédération des États du Sahel) or AES Confederation, is a confederation formed between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, located in the Sahel region of Africa. It originated as a mutual defense pact created on 16 September 2023 following the 2023 Nigerien crisis, in which the West African political bloc ECOWAS threatened to intervene militarily following a successful coup d'état in Niger earlier that year.