Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger withdraw from ECOWAS, cite sovereign decision

The military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have announced their immediate withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States.

The leaders of the three Sahel nations on Sunday issued a statement saying it was a “sovereign decision” to leave the ECOWAS “without delay”.

These Sahel nations, grappling with jihadist violence and poverty, have had strained relations with ECOWAS since coups unfolded in Niger in July 2023, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Mali in 2020.

Following these coups, all three nations were suspended from ECOWAS, with Niger and Mali facing substantial sanctions. Recently, they have solidified their positions and formed an “Alliance of Sahel States.”

A French military withdrawal from the Sahel — the region along the Sahara desert across Africa — has heightened concerns over the conflicts spreading southward to the Gulf of Guinea states Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Ivory Coast.

The prime minister appointed by Niger’s military regime on Thursday blasted ECOWAS for “bad faith” after the bloc largely shunned a planned meeting in Niamey.

Niger had hoped for an opportunity to talk through differences with fellow states of ECOWAS, which has cold-shouldered Niamey, imposing heavy economic and financial sanctions following the military coup that overthrew elected president Mohamed Bazoum.