Three military-led West African nations have announced their immediate withdrawal from regional bloc ECOWAS, accusing the body of becoming a threat to its members.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso “decide in complete sovereignty on the immediate withdrawal” from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), read a joint statement published on Sunday.
ECOWAS “under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles, has become a threat to its member states and its population”, read the statement.
The three countries accused the regional body of failing to support their fight against “terrorism and insecurity”, while imposing “illegal, illegitimate, inhumane and irresponsible sanctions”.
Ties between the three nations and ECOWAS have been strained since military power grabs took place in Mali in 2020 and 2021, in Burkina Faso in 2022 and in Niger in 2023.
The regional body reacted by suspending all three countries and imposed heavy sanctions on Niger and Mali.
Source: Aljazeera
