Mali–Niger border
A border of long straight lines and dry valleys across the Sahel and into the Sahara, first sketched in 1909 by two French district commanders. Its southern end lies in Liptako-Gourma, where Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso meet, a region ravaged by armed rebellion; in 2023 the three military governments named their defence charter after it.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Mali →Niger →
A commanders’ line
In 1909 the French commanders of Gao and Niamey signed a convention, apparently never ratified, dividing their districts along a parallel from the Niger River to the Azaouak valley and then by a meridian to the Algerian border. It became the basis of the line between French Sudan, now Mali, and Niger, which was fixed by the Ansongo convention of 1928 and later plans, and confirmed in 1939. More than two-thirds of the border is straight lines, and it has never been marked with pillars.[1]
Liptako-Gourma
An armed rebellion that began in northern Mali in 2012 spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015, and the Liptako-Gourma region where their borders meet has been ravaged by it. After coups in all three countries since 2020, their military leaders signed the Liptako-Gourma charter on 16 September 2023, founding the Alliance of Sahel States, under which an attack on one is treated as an attack on all.[2]
“Our priority is the fight against terrorism in the three countries.”[2]
Timeline
190926 August 1909
Niamey convention
Two district commanders sketch the line.[1]
19285 March 1928
Ansongo convention
The Sudan–Niger boundary is set.[1]
2012
Rebellion
An armed rebellion erupts in northern Mali.[2]
202316 September 2023
Alliance of Sahel States
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso sign the Liptako-Gourma charter.[2]
More borders
Sources
- [1]International Boundary Study No. 150: Mali – Niger Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 13 January 1975
- [2]Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso establish Sahel security alliance · Al Jazeera · 16 September 2023
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.