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Sahel States Back Morocco’s Sea Access Initiative, Commit to Accelerating its Implementation

Morocco’s King met on Monday with the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger (MAP)
Morocco’s King met on Monday with the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger (MAP)
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Sahel States Back Morocco’s Sea Access Initiative, Commit to Accelerating its Implementation

Morocco’s King met on Monday with the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger (MAP)
Morocco’s King met on Monday with the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger (MAP)

The foreign ministers of the Sahel States Alliance, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, welcomed an initiative launched by Moroccan King Mohammed VI in 2023 to facilitate their access to the Atlantic Ocean, reaffirming their full support for and commitment to accelerating its implementation.
The Moroccan news agency, MAP, said the King received on Monday the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré, of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop, and Niger, Bakary Yaou Sangaré.

The meeting came within the framework of the Kingdom's strong and longstanding relations with the three countries, ties that have always been characterized by sincere friendship, mutual respect, active solidarity, and fruitful cooperation.

MAP said the Alliance's foreign ministers welcomed Morocco’s actions and initiatives aimed at promoting the economic and social development of the countries of the region and their peoples.

“The ministers particularly welcomed the initiative launched by the King to facilitate access for the Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean, reaffirming their full support for and commitment to accelerating its implementation,” the news agency stated.

In 2023, the King suggested to launch an international initiative to enable the Sahel countries to have access to the Atlantic Ocean using Moroccan ports stretching along the Western Sahara coastline, a region disputed with the Algerian-backed Polisario Front.

So far, Morocco has not announced a timetable for the implementation of the initiative, which hinges on upgrading infrastructure in the Sahel countries.

Following the meeting with the King, Mali’s foreign minister said: “We expressed our appreciation for the Royal initiative aimed at enabling Atlantic Ocean access to our three countries, to diversify our access to the sea and to reinforce peace and security.”

Niger’s foreign minister described Morocco’s initiative as “a windfall for the three landlocked countries.”

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Syrian Interior Ministry Arrests ISIS Cell Responsible for Church Attack

People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 
People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 
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Syrian Interior Ministry Arrests ISIS Cell Responsible for Church Attack

People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 
People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 

Hours after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed that those involved in a “heinous” suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, Syria’s Interior Ministry said authorities had arrested several suspects in connection with the attack.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the Mar Elias church in the Dweila district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and injured 63 others, according to the Health Ministry.

“In coordination with the General Intelligence Service, the Ministry carried out security operations against ISIS-linked terrorist cells in the Damascus countryside, arresting a cell leader and five members, and killing two others affiliated with the terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus,” the Syrian Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

“During the raid, quantities of weapons and ammunition were seized, in addition to explosive vests and mines. A motorcycle bomb that had been prepared for detonation was also found,” it said.

On Monday, the Syrian President expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the church bombing.

He said “this heinous crime that targeted innocent people in their worship places reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity –government and people- in confronting threats to our security and the stability of our country.”

Sharaa added, “Today, we all stand united, rejecting injustice and crime in all its forms. We pledge to the victims that we will work day and night, mobilizing all our specialized security services, to apprehend all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and bring them to justice to face their just punishment.”

The attack is the first such bombing in Damascus since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime. It raised fear among the people.

Commenting on the attack, a man in his 70s described the attack as “a huge and horrible strike,” stressing the need for “the authorities to tighten security measures on churches, all places of worship, and busy places.”

On Monday, Asharq Al-Awsat spotted heavy deployment of local security agents in the capital’s neighborhoods and major roads, amid heightened security measures.

Adbdulrahman Alhaj, a researcher in Islamic studies, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Interior Ministry statement that linked the attack to an ISIS suicide attack is a suggestion that the ministry’s spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba had mentioned in his Sunday press briefing.

Alhaj said he supports the ministry’s conclusions as ISIS had recently issued several threats signaling plans to confront the new regime in Damascus particularly, al-Sharaa.