Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso intend to create joint armed forces to combat terrorist groups in the region. This was announced by Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop following talks between representatives of the Alliance of Sahel States (ASC) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, TASS reported.

‘In our three countries, we have achieved satisfactory results as far as our fight against terrorist groups is concerned. Presently our main goal is to create a united Sahel confederation force to fight the terrorist threat,’ the minister said.