The allied military-led nations of the Sahel denounced the emergency landing of a Nigerian military aircraft in Burkina Faso on Monday, while collectively threatening action against violations of their airspace.
The Alliance of Sahel States - made up of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso - said in a joint statement that the aircraft had been carrying 11 military personnel and did not have permission to fly over Burkina Faso.
"An aircraft belonging to the Air Force of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, type C-130, was forced to land today in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, following an in-flight emergency situation while it was operating in Burkinabe airspace," according to an alliance statement read on state media in the three west African countries.
Violate airspace
The statement called the landing an "unfriendly act" and said the countries' respective air forces had been put on maximum alert and authorised to "neutralise any aircraft" found to violate the confederation's airspace.
However, the Nigerian Air Force said the plane, which took off from Lagos, was on a "ferry mission'' to Portugal, but decided to divert to the nearest field in Burkina Faso as a "precautionary" safety measure due to a "technical concern".
It said the move was in line with "standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols", and that the people on board were safe.
The joint statement by the Sahel countries did not mention what happened to the 11 military personnel onboard the Nigerian turboprop plane.
The three countries, battling terrorist groups in the Sahel, maintain uneasy relations with their West African neighbours. In January, they left the regional bloc ECOWAS after forming their own alliance.
The three states have also distanced themselves from the West, notably from former colonial ruler France, while drawing closer to Russia.
