As jihadist attacks escalate across West Africa,the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is fast-tracking plans for a regional counter-terrorism force to confront the mounting security crisis.
According to ECOWAS Commission president Omar Alieu Touray,preparations for the long-anticipated force are “in full gear,” with member countries ready to contribute troops. Finance and defense ministers are set to meet before mid-June to finalize funding strategies. The urgency follows a surge in extremist violence,especially in Nigeria and Benin. In April alone,more than 100 people were killed in northeastern Nigeria.
In Benin,Al-Qaeda-linked militants killed 54 soldiers last month in cross-border raids believed to originate from Niger and Burkina Faso.
Regional cooperation has suffered since Mali,Burkina Faso,and Niger — now allied under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — withdrew from ECOWAS earlier this year. This rift has undermined intelligence sharing and joint operations,further exposing porous borders to extremist exploitation.
Niger’s exit from a joint Lake Chad task force with Nigeria,Chad,and Cameroon in March marked another blow to regional coordination. Touray warned that “disunity will make it difficult for us to collaborate to fight insecurity,including terrorism,” urging renewed dialogue with AES states to maintain regional stability. The Global Terrorism Index ranks the Sahel as the world’s deadliest hotspot for extremist violence in 2024,accounting for half of all terrorism-related deaths.
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