West Africa's ECOWAS decries lack of progress with junta states

 

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) declared that it would put up "more vigorous" attempts to reconcile with the junta-led breakaway countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, expressing disappointment at the lack of progress in their efforts.

At the beginning of a conference on Sunday in Abuja, Nigeria, the head of the ECOWAS commission, Oumar Touray, stated that the signing of a confederation treaty by the three Alliance of Sahel States (AES) puts the area at risk of disintegration and increased insecurity.

 

Eaty emphasized the juntas' resolve to leave the nearly 50-year-old ECOWAS after cutting diplomatic and military ties with Western nations in favor of closer relations with Russia.

 

"The Authority expresses disappointment with the lack of progress in engagements with the authorities of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and instructs the President of the Commission to facilitate a more vigorous approach," ECOWAS said in a communique released on Monday.

 

As for the AES, however, ECOWAS would "develop a forward-looking contingency plan" that addressed every scenario.

Between 2020 and 2023, juntas in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali overthrew their governments through a series of coups.

As it fights to limit a ten-year war with Islamist rebels and develop economies that are among the world's poorest, it is unclear how closely the AES will coordinate political, economic, and defence objectives.

 

Their departure might make things weaker. The bloc's provision of freedom of movement and access to a 400 million-person common market was deemed threatened, according to ECOWAS and Touray.

In addition to appointing Senegalese and Togolese leaders to engage with the juntas in an effort to reintegrate them into the bloc, ECOWAS re-elected Nigerian President Bola Tinubu as its chairman for an additional year.

The chiefs of ECOWAS decided to mobilize a 5,000-strong regional counterterrorism standby force. The force would be built up gradually, with a 1,650-man brigade at launch.