Monday, December 16, 2024 - Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Republic will stop being members of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, from 2025.
President of ECOWAS commission, Alieu Touray, made the announcement on
Sunday during the 66th ordinary session of heads of states and governments in
Abuja.
The military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali and
Niger announced their immediate withdrawal from the
ECOWAS in January this year.
Prior to the withdrawal, the trio were suspended from ECOWAS, with Niger
and Mali facing heavy sanctions.
However, Touray said ECOWAS has now set the countries’ exit at January
29, 2025 – July 29, 2025.
The ECOWAS president said the timeframe would allow for last mediations
and any diplomatic interventions.
The development comes after the military-led governments of Niger, Mali,
and Burkina Faso announced their decision to withdraw from the Economic
Community of West African States, ECOWAS, describing the move as
“irreversible.”
The three countries, in a joint statement, accused ECOWAS of serving the
interests of France, their former colonial power and pledged to chart a new
path for their citizens.
The announcement precedes a key ECOWAS summit scheduled for Sunday,
where regional leaders had hoped to negotiate a resolution to retain the three
nations within the bloc.
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