Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Withdrawing from ECOWAS

On 28 January 2024, the military-run governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger announced that three countries have decided to withdraw from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) "without delay". A joint statement on the decision was published via X (formerly Twitter) by Mali's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The three countries were part of the original countries that created ECOWAS in 1975. However, following military coups, the countries were suspended and subject to sancti…