West African coup leaders recommit to shuning Ecowas

The leaders of junta-led Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso have signed a confederation treaty and cemented their decision to abandon West African bloc Ecowas in a summit of their newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES) on Saturday.

Mali’s Col Assimi Goïta, Burkina Faso’s Capt Ibrahim Traoré, and Niger’s Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani signed the treaty in Niamey signaling closer alignment in the region affected by jihadist insurgency.

The military leaders seized control in a series of coups in the three states from 2020 to 2023 and cut ties with regional allies and Western powers while embracing Russia.

Niger’s military leader General Tiani described the AES summit as “the culmination of our determined common will to reclaim our national sovereignty” according to Reuters news agency.

“Our peoples have irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS. It is up to us today to make the AES Confederation an alternative to any artificial regional group by building … a community free from the control of foreign powers,” Tiani added.

On his part, Capt Traoré of Burkina Faso said: “this continent has suffered and continues to suffer from the fire of the imperialists.”

In January 2024, the junta governments announced a plan to leave Ecowas, and two months later, they agreed to set up a joint force to tackle security threats across their territories.

The junta-led nations also agreed to coordinate diplomatic actions, create an AES investment bank and stabilization fund, and pool their resources to set up projects in strategic sectors including mining, energy and agriculture.

The three countries have expelled French soldiers who were there as part of an anti-jihadist mission and turned towards Russia for military assistance.

The new junta alliance was forged as the Ecowas bloc opened a summit on Sunday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to initiate dialogue with the three coup-hit Sahel countries.