Senegal tasked with wooing military ruled Sahel states back into ECOWAS

West Africa’s economic bloc, ECOWAS, appointed Senegalese president Basirou Faye to intercede with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger who said they left the grouping and formed a new confederation.

Faye was asked at the ECOWAS’ 65th ordinary session to work together with Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe to mediate and try to convince the three military ruled states to return to the regional grouping.

Senegal’s president has already visited Mali and Burkina Faso and raised their return to the ECOWAS to no avail so far.

The three military-ruled states have ruled out a return to the ECOWAS and formed an alliance instead.

“It’s up to us today to make the confederation alliance of Sahelian states an alternative to all bogus regional groupings, by building a sovereign community of people,” Niger’s ruler Tchiani said, in a quote that was echoed by his Burkinabe and Malian comrades.