ABUJA: The West African bloc ECOWAS has warned that the region faced “disintegration” following the military rulers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali cemented a breakaway union. The three nations formed a “Confederation of Sahel States” at a meeting on the eve of the Economic Community of West African States leaders’ summit, marking another test for the alliance they declared they were splitting from earlier this year.
ECOWAS is already wrestling with sweeping violence, financial issue and challenges mustering a regional force. However, it was not clear what action the alliance would take following its summit in Abuja, though Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called on Senegal’s new leader to serve as a “special envoy” with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, without providing more information.
The head of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray has said the Sahel nations’ withdrawal risked “political isolation,” losing millions of dollars in funding and hampering freedom of movement. Touray stated that the break would worsen insecurity and disrupt the work of the long-proposed regional force. He warned that their region is confronting the risk of disintegration.
The juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso came to power in a series of coups over recent years and also announced their intention to leave ECOWAS in January.
These countries have also shifted away from former colonial ruler France and expelled French forces, with Niger’s General Abdourahamane Tiani calling for the formation of a “community far removed from the stranglehold of foreign powers.”
The three nations’ decision to leave was fueled in part by their accusation that France was manipulating ECOWAS and not providing enough support for to curb militancy. Various West African leaders have called for the resumption of talks, and Sunday’s summit was the first for new Senegalese leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who said in May that there is chance of reconciliation.
He said that they must do everything, they can to avoid the withdrawal of these three brotherly nations from ECOWAS. Niger’s relations with ECOWAS deteriorated after the July 2023 coup that brought Tiani to power, which saw the alliance impose sanctions and threaten to intervene militarily to restore ousted president Bazoum.
