Three French-speaking West African nations under military rule, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have announced that they are severing ties with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) without delay.
The three countries announced their decision to pull out of the regional economic bloc in a joint statement released on Sunday where they criticised ECOWAS over the sanctions imposed on them as part of efforts to reverse the coups in their countries.
“After 49 years, the valiant peoples of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger regretfully 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 statement read in part.
It goes on to say that ECOWAS “under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles, has become a threat to member states and peoples,” adding that the bloc had failed to help them tackle the jihadist violence in their countries.
Out of the three West African states, Mali was the first to be suspended from ECOWAS in 2021 after the country experienced two military coups months apart.
In January 2022, ECOWAS also suspended Burkina Faso from the regional bloc after a military coup led by Paul Henri Damiba, which saw the democratic government of former president Roch Kabore ousted by mutinying soldiers.
In December last year, months after Niger’s President Mohammed Bazoum was ousted in a military coup led by the then head of the Presidential Guard, Abdourahamane Tiani, the country was suspended from ECOWAS.
ECOWAS said the suspensions of these countries would last until constitutional order is restored.
However, following the announcement to withdraw from the bloc entirely by the three countries, ECOWAS issued a statement on Sunday saying that it was ready for “a negotiated solution”.
ECOWAS further noted that the three countries are “important members of the community,” and the bloc “remains committed to finding a negotiated solution to the political impasse”. ECOWAS in the statement, however added that it was yet to receive any direct formal notification from the countries about their withdrawal.