00:00Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will stand together in the face of attacks, Mali's Prime Minister
00:06told the UN on Friday. His comments came as he accused Algeria of international terrorism
00:13over the downing of a Malian army drone.
00:19Under the leadership of our heads of state, the defence and security forces of the three
00:24countries of the AES Confederation work closely together in an unprecedented spirit of collaboration
00:31and complementarity. They are driven by a shared commitment and a pooling of efforts to curb
00:39the scourge of terrorism. This new dynamic, centred on strengthening the operational capacities
00:45of our defence and security forces through the mass recruitment, adequate training and
00:50provision of appropriate equipment produces encouraging results on the ground every day,
00:57thus confirming the full relevance of our sovereign decision to unite in order to combat our common
01:02enemies. In the face of attacks and adversity, we will not stand by. For every bullet fired
01:11at us, we will respond. For every word twisted against us, we will respond in kind.
01:20The Confederation was formed last year after the three countries withdrew from the ECOWAS
01:26alliance of West African states. They all face internal security threats from jihadist insurgents.
01:34The AES Confederation gives the UN a historic opportunity to stand on the side of truth,
01:40to recognise that the people of the AES are under attack and to support a Confederation that
01:46fights both for itself and for Africa, for the stability of the continent and indirectly for
01:52that of the entire world. Last week, the three nations withdrew from the Rome statute of the
01:58International Criminal Court, calling it an example of selective justice.
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