ECOWAS had given Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger until July to reconsider the move, but they said their departure was irreversible
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have formally withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after months of strained relations between the regional authority and military rulers of the Sahel nations.
ECOWAS confirmed their departure in a statement on Wednesday. The bloc has pledged to keep its “doors open” and has instructed member states to continue to grant membership benefits to nationals of the three countries, including visa-free travel within the region.
“All relevant authorities within and outside ECOWAS member states are requested and required to recognize national passports and identity cards bearing the ECOWAS logo held by the citizens of Burkina Faso, the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Niger, until further notice,” it stated.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger jointly announced that they were leaving the 15-nation grouping in January last year. They accused ECOWAS of posing a threat to their sovereignty by serving as a tool for foreign powers, particularly France. The bloc, which is home to more than 400 million people, had threatened to send a French-backed military force into Niger to restore democratic order after Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown in July 2023. The military-ruled landlocked states have severed defense ties with Paris, citing meddling and the failure of its soldiers to quell jihadist violence in the Sahel despite their engagement for more than a decade.
ECOWAS denies the allegations and has attempted to persuade Bamako, Niamey, and Ouagadougou to rethink their decision, warning that their breakaway could undermine free trade and movement within the region.
In December, the group announced it was giving the landlocked states until July 2025, a six-month grace period, to reconsider their exit move.
In response, the three former French colonies, which have set up their own union, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), have declared that their decision to leave the West African bloc is irreversible. Mali’s interim leader, Assimi Goita, issued a statement promising that their departure will not prevent ECOWAS citizens from entering and staying in the territory of the AES.
Oumar Soumano, president of the Malian association of young businessmen, told RIA Novosti in an interview published earlier on Wednesday that “the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from ECOWAS is fully justified.”
“The organization imposed unlawful sanctions on our countries, which contradicts the spirit of its original 1975 treaty, signed by these three founding states, among others,” he claimed.
