West African regional bloc, ECOWAS is reportedly considering dissuading military leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from leaving the bloc.
Ecowas leaders plan to discuss this at their next summit after the three countries all submitted formal request to exit.
Last month Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso announced their withdrawal as they accuse the regional body of threat.
The three countries being led by the military said the decision taken in complete sovereignty was to take immediate effect.
Ties between the three nations and ECOWAS have been strained since military power grabs took place in Mali in 2020 and 2021, in Burkina Faso in 2022 and in Niger in 2023.
ECOWAS suspended all three countries and imposed heavy sanctions on Niger and Mali.
In a joint statement however, the countries accused ECOWAS of violating its principles.
The three countries have now demanded an expedited withdrawal from the bloc following the announcement of their withdrawal on 29 January.
Ecowas Commission president Omar Alieu Touray has reportedly said the bloc was unlikely to grant the three Sahel nations an early exit from the organisation.
“The key idea is to reach out to them to keep them in the organisation,” French public radio RFI quoted a source as saying.
“To achieve this…discussions could also revolve around the sanctions imposed on Niger. Heads of state such as Togo’s Faure Gnassingbé are calling for these sanctions to be lifted,” RFI said, adding that at “the moment nothing is certain”.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
