Burkina Faso, Niger And Mali Announces Withdrawal From ECOWAS With Immediate Effect

Burkina Faso, Niger And Mali Announces Withdrawal From ECOWAS With Immediate Effect

Three West African countries, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger on Sunday, January 28, 2024, announced their decision to break away from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with immediate effect.

Militaries that seized power from civilian leaders currently lead these countries.

“After 49 years, the valiant peoples of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger and with great disappointment observe that the (ECOWAS) organization has drifted from the ideals of its founding fathers and the spirit of Pan-Africanism,” the countries said in a joint statement issued on Sunday, January 28, 2024.

The three countries were earlier suspended from ECOWAS following the coups and refusal to adhere to a directive from the regional body to return to civilian rule.

“Indeed, the organization has not helped our states in our existential fight against terrorism and insecurity; worse, when these states took their destiny into their own hands, it adopted an irrational and unacceptable posture by imposing illegal, inhumane and irresponsible sanctions for violation of its own texts; all things which have further weakened populations

already bruised by years of violence imposed by instrumentalist terrorist hordes who are remote-controlled.

Tension between Juntas and ECOWAS

At a summit in Nigeria’s capital Abuja in December, West African leaders demanded a “short” period of transition toward civilian rule in coup-hit Niger before they would ease economic sanctions on the country.

The junta deposed Niger's President, Mohamed Bazoum, in July 2023, and they announced that it would take three years to return to civilian rule.

In Mali’s case, civilian rule was last in place before the first of two coups, in August 2020. In 2022, the military ousted Burkina Faso's elected government.

Source: Bibianinews.com