Sahel States to Launch Biometric Passports As New Alliance Takes Shape

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will introduce new biometric passports as part of their withdrawal from a West African bloc in favour of a new Sahel alliance, Mali's leader said on Sunday.

The three military-led Sahel neighbours jointly announced in January they would leave the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which they accused of being a puppet of western imperial powers.

Burkina Faso announced earlier this month that it was rolling out new passports without the ECOWAS logo.

"In the coming days, a new biometric passport of the AES (Alliance of Sahel States) will be put into circulation with the aim of harmonising travel documents in our common area and facilitating the mobility of our citizens throughout the world", Malian leader Assimi Goita announced on Sunday evening.

He spoke ahead of a meeting Monday between the three countries' foreign ministers on the anniversary of the decision to form their own alliance.
Goita also said they were planning to launch a shared information channel "in order to promote a harmonious dissemination of information in our three states."

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This development comes after the Alliance of Sahel States held its inaugural summit on in July, bringing together military leaders from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. This historic meeting followed the three countries' decision to end French and US military influence in their territory in recent months.

Burkina Faso's Captain Ibrahim Traore emphasized the continent's struggles with imperialism, stating, "This continent has suffered and continues to suffer from the fires of imperialism. These imperialists have only one cliché in mind: 'Africa is the empire of slaves.'

The July summit reaffirmed the Alliance's commitment to independence from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which they view as a puppet organization of Western powers.

Biggest African Country 

At 2,782,438 square kilometers, the confederation of Sahel States is the largest country in Africa, bigger than Algeria and the 8th largest in the world, slightly bigger than Argentina.