Military-led governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger plan to proceed with the establishment of a confederation, the Malian foreign ministry said on Thursday, as the 3 countries deepen ties via an alliance that threatens broader West African integration.

Hub 247 News reports that the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger January 28, announced their withdrawal from the West African bloc ECOWAS.The leaders of the 3 Sahel nations issued a statement saying it was a “sovereign decision” to ECOWAS “without delay”.

Again, on Monday, the leader of the military junta in Niger, Abdourahamane Tchiani, vowed that none of the three Sahel nations would rejoin the regional bloc.

Reuters reports that at a meeting in the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou, their three ministers confirmed a joint commitment to withdraw from ECOWAS without delay and continue cooperation under a pact known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).