AU seeks reset with Mali as Sahel crisis deepens

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has arrived in Mali for a two-day visit aimed at rebuilding ties with Bamako as the continental bloc reassesses its approach to the worsening security crisis in the Sahel.

The visit marks the highest-level engagement between the African Union and Mali since the country was suspended following the 2021 military coup and signals a renewed effort by Addis Ababa to engage the region’s military-led governments.

Mahmoud is expected to meet transitional President General Assimi Goïta for talks focused on relations between Mali and the African Union, regional security and the future of cooperation with the Confederation of Sahelian States (AES), comprising Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Mali remains suspended from the African Union under the organisation’s policy of zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government.

The suspension, imposed after the 2021 coup, remains in force because Bamako has yet to restore constitutional, civilian rule.

Despite the sanctions, Mali has increasingly distanced itself from traditional regional institutions.

Alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, it withdrew from ECOWAS earlier this year and formed the Confederation of Sahelian States, creating a new political and security bloc at the heart of one of Africa’s most volatile regions.

Analysts say the visit reflects growing recognition within the African Union that isolating the juntas has yielded few results while insecurity has continued to spread across the Sahel.

Addis-based think tank Amani Africa described the mission as long overdue.

“The Sahel deserves such high-level attention and the direct engagement of the Chairperson,” it said.

The organisation added that the visit could mark the beginning of a new African Union approach to Mali and the wider Sahel after years of what it described as a lacklustre response.

The Sahel has become one of the world’s fastest-growing centres of jihadist violence, with insurgencies spilling across borders and military governments increasingly turning away from Western partners in favour of new security alliances, including closer cooperation with Russia.

For the African Union, Mahmoud’s visit represents an attempt to balance its commitment to constitutional order with the practical necessity of engaging governments that now control a strategically important region.