The Confederation of Sahel States (AES), an ECOWAS breakaway bloc comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Republic, has issued a stern directive authorising its member states to “neutralise” any aircraft found violating its airspace.
This aggressive warning follows the detention of 11 Nigerian soldiers and the seizure of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) C-130 aircraft, which the confederation accused of illegally violating Burkina Faso’s airspace on December 8, 2025.
The AES statement, signed late Monday by Mali junta leader Assimi Goita, confirmed that the seizure of the NAF aircraft – which was forced to land in Bobo-Dioulasso – was viewed as a hostile act.
“Faced with this unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law… arrangements are made to guarantee the security of the Confederal airspace,” the statement read.
On the instructions of the Heads of State, the AES announced a heightened military posture: “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… were authorised to neutralise any aircraft that would violate the confederal space.”
Goita explicitly called the alleged intrusion an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law,” suggesting the NAF aircraft lacked the mandatory overflight clearance.
The incident occurred just a day after the Nigerian government, under President Bola Tinubu, deployed military assets, including fighter jets, to the Benin Republic to help foil an attempted coup.
Presidential Spokesperson Bayo Onanuga confirmed that the Nigerian intervention was carried out based on two separate requests from Benin authorities, one of which specifically asked for aerial intelligence gathering and surveillance.
