By Abayomi Azikiwe
A gathering of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria, on December 15 failed to resolve the political differences between the regional body and three of its members: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
These three states were targeted for sanctions by ECOWAS after the military seizure of power beginning in 2020 in Mali and following in Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger on July 26, 2023.
The leadership of these three countries met on September 16, 2023 at the border where Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger came together known as Liptako-Gourma. The Liptako-Gouma Charter created the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
ECOWAS, the 15-member-states grouping, founded in 1975, embodies within its constitution the rejection of governments which came to power through military coups. Nonetheless, some of the so-called “democratic” administrations within ECOWAS states have engineered their own constitutional reforms to extend their tenures within office. Others have maintained close economic, political and military ties with the imperialist countries such as the United States, France, Britain and their NATO allies.
Nigeria, for example, under President Bola Tinubu, led the call for a military intervention into neighboring Niger after the coming to power of the Committee for the Safeguard of Our Homeland (CNSP) in July 2023. Despite this threat from Tinubu who is also chair of ECOWAS, people throughout the West Africa region refused to go along with his proposal which was advanced at the aegis of the U.S. and France. Objections to a Pentagon-led ECOWAS invasion into Niger even failed to win support among the Nigerian Senate which is dominated by the All-Progressives Congress (APC), the party of the president.
At the ECOWAS meeting on December 15, the leaders approved the exit of the AES from the parent regional body. The notice filed with ECOWAS after the signing of the Liptako-Gourma agreement provided a year-long exit process.
In light of the AES departure, the Sahel leaders said that their decision was irrevocable while affirming the ability of citizens from ECOWAS states to visit and conduct business within their countries. AES members held a separate gathering on the same day in Niamey, the capital of Niger.
Consequently, the official departure of the AES will be in January 2025. However, ECOWAS provided an extension of six months into July if the AES members decide to reverse their withdrawal. Within ECOWAS, the regional organization provides for a modicum of free trade and other benefits for member-states. These details remain murky considering the largely unprecedented events since the withdrawal of Mauritania in 2000 and its reentry in 2017.
A report on the ECOWAS Summit published by Al Jazeera notes:
“On Saturday [Dec. 14], the three nations stated that their territories would remain visa-free for all ECOWAS citizens post-exit. This move has alleviated concerns that their departure could threaten free trade and movement for the 400 million people living across the region. Among those who attended the summit was Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has served as a mediator between the 15-member bloc and the three countries set to leave. The Senegalese president, who was appointed to lead negotiations in July, said he was ‘making progress’ in talks with the three countries and added that there was no reason for them not to maintain relations amid ongoing security concerns in the region, where al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) have gained ground.”
The AES countries have been plagued by rebel insurgencies which have dislocated, injured and killed thousands within their respective boundaries. Since 2020, Mali and later Burkina Faso and Niger, have broken military and economic agreements with the former colonial power of France.
At present the AES governments have moved closer to the Russian Federation in regard to military assistance. French troops have been forced to leave all three AES countries. In Niger, the U.S. was asked to remove its 1,000 troops and its drone operations inside the country.
The political posture of the AES administrations has prompted the severing of diplomatic ties between Ukraine and Mali. The U.S.-NATO backed Ukrainian government is extending its proxy war against Moscow to countries in West Africa which have strengthened ties with Russia.
Silent Warriors Conference Held in Tunisia
Meanwhile the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) is continuing its mission through attempts to reassert military presence in various regions of the continent. Since its formation in February 2008, AFRICOM has enhanced its operations within the AU member-states.
The first large-scale operational project of AFRICOM was the destruction of the North African state of Libya during February-October 2011, then the most prosperous on the continent. Anywhere between 50,000-100,000 people were killed with two million more displaced.
Libyan revolutionary leader and Pan-Africanist statesman, Col. Muammar Gaddafi, who had led the country for 42 years and built the nation into an economic and political powerhouse, was brutally assassinated in the invasion and occupation. The U.S. government under then President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton engineered the AFRICOM counter-revolution in Libya which resulted in further destabilization throughout West and North Africa.
Between December 9-13, the so-called “Secret Warriors” conference was held in the North African state of Tunisia. The event was coordinated by AFRICOM and two of its internal structures.
A report published by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) said of the event that:
“Special Operations Command Africa and the Tunisian Ministry of Defense co-hosted more than 250 attendees from 40 nations during the weeklong Silent Warrior 2024 symposium, Dec. 9-13, 2024. This year’s iteration was the first time that the symposium was hosted on the African continent in Silent Warrior’s history. A multi-day symposium with broad participation from African and international partners, Silent Warrior aims to enhance operational effectiveness and mission success through cooperation and coordination across African Special Operations Forces. Speakers included the Tunisian Land Forces commander, senior leaders from U.S. Africa Command and the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia.”
Although several countries in the Sahel have expelled the U.S. and France from their territories, other states are continuing to work with the Pentagon and its allies. The principal issue involving Pentagon and French Foreign Legions interventions in the Sahel was that their purported “partnerships” with African states had in actuality not improved security. In reality the terrorist threats worsened leaving civilians and state actors even more vulnerable than ever.
The persistent attacks by the rebels proved incapable of securing the permanent placement of Pentagon and NATO troops in the Sahel region of West Africa. These terrorist campaigns directed against governments and civilian communities have provided a rationale for the continuing stationing of AFRICOM and French troops on the continent.
Ironically, Tunisia, where the popular uprisings began in late 2010 against the neo-colonial rule of imperialism through the leadership of Ben Ali, was the scene of the first African convening of the Silent Warriors grouping. Egypt, which exploded after the departure of Ben Ali, has not realized the attainment of a just society devoid of Pentagon and State Department influence.
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