The military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have announced their immediate withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States.
In a statement released on Sunday, the leaders of the three Sahel countries said that their decision to exit the ECOWAS “without delay” was made “sovereignly.”
The governments, beset by poverty and violence by jihadists, have had strained relations with the ECOWAS ever since coups occurred in Niger in July, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Mali in 2020.
Sanction, a Major Cause of The Withdrawal
Niger and Mali were subject to severe sanctions, and all three were expelled from ECOWAS.
Jerrymusa.com reports that in recent months, they have solidified their positions and united under the banner of the “Alliance of Sahel States.”
Concerns regarding a potential military pullout by France from the Sahel, an area of Africa near the Sahara desert, have increased.
the wars moving southward to the states bordering the Gulf of Guinea: Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Ivory Coast.
Following the bloc’s widespread rejection of a scheduled meeting in Niamey, the military government of Niger’s designated prime minister criticised ECOWAS on Thursday for acting in “bad faith.”
Niger had hoped for a chance to resolve its problems with other ECOWAS members, but instead, the organisation cold-shouldered Niamey, imposing severe financial and economic sanctions in the wake of the military takeover that ousted elected president Mohamed Bazoum.