In a joint statement issued by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, it was announced that Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will withdraw from the 15-member ECOWAS as soon as possible.
The declaration stated that ECOWAS, which was accused of "being under the influence of foreign powers" and "betraying its principles", posed a "threat" to these 3 countries.
In the declaration, it was emphasized that ECOWAS did not help these 3 countries fight against terrorism, and when these countries wanted to take steps in this regard, they were subjected to "unreasonable" and "illegal" sanctions.
THEY FORMED THE SAHEL ALLIANCE
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger established the "Alliance of Sahel States (AES)" in September 2023. According to the AES, an attack on one signatory country will be considered an attack on all other signatories and all parties can respond individually or collectively, including through the use of armed force.
Mali left the G5 Sahel Task Force in May 2022. Burkina Faso and Niger also announced their withdrawal from the G5 Sahel Task Force in November 2023.
The common border region shared by Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso is known as Liptako-Gourma. About 7 million people live in Liptako-Gourma, which is larger than the area of Germany.
The region has been under attack by terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Daesh since 2015.
