Burkina Faso Speaks for AES at UNGA: Unnamed States 'Arm and Finance' Sahel Jihadists

On September 28, 2026, Burkina Faso's foreign minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré addressed the UN General Assembly on behalf of the Alliance of Sahel States (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger), saying unnamed foreign states arm and finance jihadist groups in the Sahel. He offered no evidence and named no countries. He also said the three states have formally notified their withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, which takes effect around mid-2027, and claimed the bloc controls more than 74 percent of national territory. Single-source report (Rio Times); not independently confirmed by Tier 1-2 outlets in this run.