 | This article covers a current event. The information presented may become rapidly obsolete as new developments take place. |
| Economic Community of West African States | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms
| |
| Headquarters | Abuja, Nigeria |
| Official languages | English French Portuguese |
| Leaders | |
• Chairman | Bola Ahmed Tinubu |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,114,162 km² |
| Population | |
• 2019 estimate | 387,000,000 |
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a neocolonial organization of twelve West African countries. Previously a grouping of fifteen countries, the number was reduced to twelve following a January 28, 2024 joint statement by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announcing their withdrawal from the regional bloc.[1]
In 2023, after Niger's newly-formed National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) terminated Niger's military agreements with France and ordered the withdrawal of French troops from Niger, ECOWAS acted on the behalf of the USA and France, threatening to declare war, and sanctioned Niger. Burkina Faso and Mali said that they would go to war to defend Niger.[2] Following this, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali went on to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in September of 2023, and announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS in January 2024.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Withdraw from ECOWAS.” Peoples Dispatch, January 30, 2024. Archived 2024-05-23.
- ↑ Kayla Marie (2023-08-11). "Niger’s new government defies imperialist-backed ECOWAS war threats" Liberation News. Retrieved 2023-08-11.