The army chiefs of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso on Wednesday announced the creation of a joint force to battle long-running terrorist insurgencies raging in their countries.

The new force "will be operational as soon as possible to take into account the security challenges in our space," Niger's army chief Moussa Salaou Barmou said in a statement following talks in Niamey.

"We are convinced that, with the combined efforts of our three countries, we will manage to create the conditions for a shared security," he added.

The size of the joint force was unspecified but Barmou said the three armies had agreed to develop an "operational concept" that would allow them to reach their defense and security objectives.

The announcement is the latest bringing closer the three neighbors, who have severed ties with former colonial ruler and traditional security ally France for failing, despite its military presence, to curb the insurgencies spread by militants affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) terrorist groups since 2012.

Last year, they joined diplomatic forces in an Alliance of Sahel States to create a federation and in January announced their intention to withdraw from the regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

ECOWAS had imposed sanctions on all three countries for overthrowing their elected governments in a succession of coups since 2020 fueled by anger at civilian governments for inaction amid the insurgencie estimated to have killed thousands and displaced millions across the region.