The West African bloc ECOWAS warned on Sunday of potential “disintegration” in the region following the formation of a breakaway union by the military rulers of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
The three countries established a “Confederation of Sahel States” on the eve of the Economic Community of West African States leaders’ summit, further challenging the bloc they had already decided to leave earlier this year.
ECOWAS is currently grappling with widespread jihadist violence, financial issues, and difficulties in assembling a regional force.
While it was unclear what actions ECOWAS would take after its summit in Abuja, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Senegal’s new leader as a “special envoy” to engage with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, without providing specific details.
“Our region is facing the risk of disintegration,” he warned.
- Backs Turned
The juntas in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso came to power in a series of coups over recent years and announced their intention to leave ECOWAS in January.
They have shifted away from former colonial ruler France and expelled French troops, with Niger’s General Abdourahamane Tiani calling for the establishment of a “community far removed from the stranglehold of foreign powers”.
“Our people have irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS,” Tiani said at the Sahel group meeting in Niamey on Saturday, rebuffing the bloc’s pleas to come back into the fold.
The three countries’ decision to leave was fuelled in part by their accusation that Paris was manipulating ECOWAS and not providing enough support for anti-jihadist efforts.
Several West African leaders have called for the resumption of dialogue, and Sunday’s summit was the first for new Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who said in May that reconciliation was possible.
“We must do everything we can to avoid the withdrawal of these three brotherly countries from ECOWAS,” he said Sunday, adding that reforms were needed to “adapt ECOWAS to the realities of our times”.
Niger’s ties with ECOWAS deteriorated following the July 2023 coup that brought Tiani to power, which saw the bloc impose sanctions and threaten to intervene militarily to restore ousted president Mohamed Bazoum.
The sanctions were lifted in February but relations remain bitter.
- Military Force
ECOWAS has also been discussing how it can fund a “regional force to combat terrorism and restore constitutional order”.
It has suggested establishing an initial 1,500-member unit, and one proposal was to then muster a brigade of 5,000 soldiers at a cost of around $2.6 billion a year.
ECOWAS has launched military interventions in the past, but its threat of doing so after the coup in Niger fizzled out.
As the bloc grapples with regional challenges, Touray warned it was facing a “dire financial situation”.
ECOWAS also said President Tinubu would stay on as chair, despite reports of a rift over his reappointment
