In response, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced their exit last January and accused ECOWAS of failing to safeguard member states and of aligning too closely with foreign powers.

Thousands of people rallied Tuesday in Niger and Burkina Faso in support of the withdrawal of their countries from the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, which is due to take effect today.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger on Wednesday formally withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc. The military-led governments in the three West African nations decided to withdraw from the bloc, and formed their own security alliance, the Alliance of Sahel States, in September 2023.