Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have revealed why they pulled out of the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The countries said ECOWAS refused to support their fight against terrorism and failed to respect its own values by imposing sanctions, said Burkina Faso’s interim leader Captain Ibrahim Traore.

Speaking in an interview with Cameroonian journalist Alain Foka, Traore said the regional organization was created with the aim of “integrating peoples, promoting development, the economy, solidarity and mutual aid,”

“Unfortunately, with the passage of time, the organization has lost these values. Today, the facts are clear. For more than a decade, Mali and Niger have been at war with terrorism. And in Burkina Faso, we’ve been at war for almost a decade. We have never received any aid from this organization,” said President Troare.

Moreover, ECOWAS does not respect its own rules, notably by imposing sanctions that are not included in its founding charter, Troare said.

“The first to violate these texts are these so-called democrats. We’re leaving, but we remain pan-African,” he stated. He then revealed that sometimes they borrow weapons and return them after fighting but that Russia and Iran sell whatever they want to them.

The leader went on to stress that the decision to leave was well-considered.

“It’s not out of the blue to turn your back on an organization, but it’s the result of a thorough analysis,” the head of state admitted. “If it were a fit of anger, we would have done it a long time ago. We took the time to analyze the situation, weigh a lot of things and finally make a decision.”

Mali and Burkina Faso subsequently sent a “formal notification” of their withdrawal to the community.

These countries have had strained relations with ECOWAS since the military took power in Mali in 2020, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger in 2023. The organization has imposed heavy sanctions on the latter and threatened to use military force to return ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum. ECOWAS has also suspended the three countries from its bodies.

For its part, ECOWAS said it was ready for a “negotiated solution” and stressed that the three countries were important members of the Sub-Saharan community.

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