West African nation Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have announced, they are leaving the regional economic bloc, Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS).
All three countries, which were founding members of ECOWAS in 1975, are currently led by militaries that seized power from civilian leaders. France withdrew its troops from Niger in late 2023 after the coup in that country last summer whereas the three country continue to strengthen it ties to Russia.
In a joint statement issued late sunday, the three countries said they have “decided in complete sovereignty on the immediate withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States.”
The main reason for the withdrawal according to the three junta-led states is because of the regional bloc “inhumane” sanction against them since the coup.
They charged that ECOWAS has “moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism.”
“Furthermore, ECOWAS, under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles, has become a threat to its member states and its populations whose happiness it is supposed to ensure,” they said.
Considered West Africa’s top political and regional authority, the 15-nation ECOWAS — formed in 1975 to “promote economic integration” in member countries — has struggled in recent years to reverse rampant coups in the region.
The countries have had tense ties with ECOWAS since coups took place in Niger last July, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020.
Meanwhile, ECOWAS said in a statement that it wasn’t notified of the countries’ decision to withdraw.
ECOWAS said in a statement that it had not been notified of the countries’ decision to quit the bloc. Its protocol provides that withdrawal takes up to one year to be completed.
“Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali remain important members of the Community and the Authority remains committed to finding a negotiated solution to the political impasse,” it said.