The three African Sahel countries officially leave ECOWAS
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, all ruled by military regimes that emerged from coups, formally left the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Wednesday after more than a year of high diplomatic tensions.
But the regional group, whose future appears uncertain, has nevertheless decided to keep its doors open for dialogue, it said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
The rift peaked after Niger’s July 2023 coup, when ECOWAS threatened to intervene militarily to restore the ousted president and imposed heavy economic sanctions on Niamey before lifting them.
ECOWAS has asked its now 12 member states to recognize until further notice passports and national identity cards bearing the ECOWAS emblem and carried by nationals of the withdrawing countries.
The statement added that these people should be able to continue to enjoy, until further notice, the right to travel, reside and settle without a visa, in accordance with the ECOWAS protocols in this regard.
It will also be possible for trade in goods and services between the withdrawing countries and the member states to continue under existing rules that will remain in force until the full terms of our future relations with the three countries are adopted.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which formed the ECOWAS Sahel alliance, were accused of imposing inhumane, illegal and illegitimate sanctions on them after the coups and of not helping them enough to combat the violence of extremist Islamist groups, and by extension France.
The former colonial state has become a common enemy for these military councils, which now prefer to establish partnerships with countries such as Russia, Türkiye and Iran.
In the region, Togo and Ghana have begun to normalize their relations with the Sahel countries.
Last week, Ghana’s new President John Mahama appointed former army officer Larry Gbefelu Lartey as his special envoy to the coalition.
