The Mali–Niger border is 828 km (520 m) in length and runs from the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

with

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

in the west to the tripoint with

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in the east.

Description

Beginning at the tripoint with Burkina Faso, the border proceeds in an irregular line eastwards, cutting across the

Niger river The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

, with a series of straight lines proceeding eastwards to a point just north of the Mata Lekya well in Niger. The boundary then follows the seasonal Ahzar Amachkalo river in a steep north-eastwards direction, then continues in this manner via a series of straight lines in an almost directly northwards direction up to the Algerian tripoint. The terrain is generally

Sahelian The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

, merging into the

Sahara desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

in the northern stretches.

History

The border first emerged during the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

, a period of intense competition between European powers in the later 19th century for territory and influence in Africa. The process culminated in the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was a meeting of colonial powers that concluded with the signing of the General Act of Berlin,

of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. As a result of this

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

gained control of the upper valley of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

(roughly equivalent to the areas of modern

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and Niger). France began occupying the area of modern Mali (then often referred to as

French Sudan French Sudan (; ') was a French colonial territory in the Federation of French West Africa from around 1880 until 1959, when it joined the Mali Federation, and then in 1960, when it became the independent state of Mali. The colony was formall ...

) during the 1880s-90s, later occupying the territory of modern Niger by 1900. These areas fell under the control of the federal colony of

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

(''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF). The internal divisions of this polity underwent several changes during its existence; what are now Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso were at first united as Upper Senegal and Niger, with Niger being classed as a military territory, ruled from

Zinder Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 235,605 as by the 2012 census. It is situated east of the capital Niamey and north of the Nigerian city of Kano. History ...

. What is now the Mali–Niger border was initially delimited by the Commanders of

Gao Gao (or Gawgaw/Kawkaw) is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an imp ...

and

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

on 26 August 1909. It appears that for about year from 1910 to 1911 the town of Gao was included within Niger. The Niger military territory was split off from Upper Senegal and Niger in 1911, becoming a separate colony in 1922. The Mali-Niger boundary was further delimited in 1928-29 and 1937–38, being finalised at a convention in Niamey on 3 April 1939. As the movement for decolonisation grew in the post-

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era, France gradually granted more political rights and representation for its African territories, culminating in the granting of broad internal autonomy to each colony in 1958 within the framework of the

French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...

. Eventually, in August 1960, both Mali (at that point part of the short-lived Federation of Mali with

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

) and Niger were granted full independence and their mutual frontier became an international one between two independent states. A joint protocol between the two new states on 27 February 1962 confirmed their mutual boundary as per the 1939 convention. Security along the boundary has been poor for many years, owing to the

Tuareg rebellions Tuareg rebellion may refer to various armed conflicts involving the Tuareg people of the northern parts of Mali and Niger and the western parts of Libya: *Kaocen revolt (1916–1917) *Tuareg rebellion (1962–1964) *Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995) * ...

of the 1990s and 2000s. This worsened considerably after 2012, following the outbreak of the

Northern Mali conflict {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Mali War , width = 35% , partof = the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel and the War on terror , image = MaliWar.svg , image_size = 300 , caption ...

and associated Islamist-inspired violence.

Settlements

Mali

* Labbézanga * Ouattagouna * Akabar * Tabonkort * Andéramboukane

Niger

Ayourou Ayourou (or Ayorou or Ayerou) is a town and rural commune in the Tillabéri Region, in western Niger. It is situated 208 km northwest of the capital Niamey near the Malian border. The old town stands on an eponymous island An island ...

* Bani-Bangou * Chinagodrar * Andéramboukane

Border crossings

There is a road crossing in the far west of the border connecting

Ansongo Ansongo is a rural commune and small town in the Gao Region of eastern Mali. The town lies on the left bank of the Niger River 90 km south of Gao. It is the administrative center for the surrounding Ansongo Cercle. The commune covers an ...

(Mali) to

(Niger).Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. 47 Further east lies the border crossing at Andéramboukane (Mali). The border can also be traversed via boat along the river Niver. Travel to the border region is discouraged by third party governments owing to the high incidence of kidnap and criminality, and the ongoing instability resulting from the Tuareg rebellions and the insurgency in Mali.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mali-Niger border Borders of Mali Borders of Niger International borders