Admitted as an observer country with Niger, Mali was absent, certainly because of ECOWAS sanctions. All the other member countries of the Accra Initiative, launched in 2017, were represented: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo. An organization engaged in the sharing of information, intelligence, and joint military operations.
In the hotel where the meeting was held, placed under very good guard, the big names of the secret services of the sub-region. The work was mainly devoted to terrorism with great concern, that of seeing jihadist groups raging in coastal countries.
Benin did not escape it: only on Monday, while the meeting was being held, an artisanal mine coupled with an ambush mowed down five Beninese soldiers. How to cope? Mobilize, better organize and fight back together. Common actions have been carried out in the past, they must be continued and expanded, the meeting decided.
A major joint operation was in preparation, it was validated by the Ministers of the Interior. Last step, an important change, the operation will not last only a few days, it will be planned over twelve months. According to our information, seven countries should participate. The border areas will be the main areas of operation.