From left: Mali’s Assimi Goita, Niger’s Abdourahamane Tiani and Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traore at the summit of heads of state and governments of the Alliance of Sahel States in Niamey, Niger on July 6, 2024.
Two months after quitting the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), three Sahelian junta-led countries of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are raising a new dilemma initially not anticipated in the bloc.
For one, officials of Ecowas decided to continue extending privileges to the three countries as though they never left: free movement of people, common tariffs and other bloc-wide policies.
