West Africa bloc approves exit timeline for three coup-hit member states

Nigerian President and chairman of Ecowas Bola Tinubu (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP)

West Africa’s regional bloc, Ecowas, has approved an exit timeline for three coup-hit nations after a nearly yearlong process of mediation to avert the unprecedented disintegration of the grouping.

In a first in the 15-nation bloc’s nearly 50 years of existence, the military juntas of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced in January that they have decided to leave Ecowas, accusing it of “inhumane and irresponsible” coup-related sanctions and of failing to help them solve their internal security crises.