Mali Mulls ECOWAS Exit

The Ministry of Youth and Sports, in charge of civic education and citizen building in Mali, held a meeting aimed at supporting the country's withdrawal from  the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWA).

The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Industry and Commerce, the Minister of Refoundation, and the Minister of Youth and Sports.

This national mobilization also took place simultaneously in other regions of Mali.

The African Union expressed "deep regret" over the decision by the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to withdraw from the West African bloc ECOWAS.

The AU said its commission president, Moussa Faki Mahamat, "calls on regional leaders to intensify the dialogue between the ECOWAS leadership and the three aforementioned countries", which accused the West African bloc of posing a threat to their sovereignty.

The three countries, which have shared tense ties with ECOWAS since the coups, announced their decision in a joint statement.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger were founding members of ECOWAS in 1975, but the bloc suspended all three and imposed sanctions on them following military coups that overthrew elected civilian governments.

It also left open a possible military intervention to re-establish constitutional order in Niger as a final option if needed.

The United States, which has vocally opposed the coups in the three countries, called on Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to "continue to work with ECOWAS."

The coups took place in Niger in July last year, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020.

Niger has now sent ECOWAS official notification of its withdrawal from the West African bloc, an official source said.