West African leaders have agreed to establish a 2,000-strong regional counter-terrorism force in a renewed attempt to stem spiralling jihadist violence across the Sahel, diplomatic and military sources said on Tuesday.
The decision was taken by the 12 member states of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) following talks among military chiefs in Freetown on February 28 and March 1. The force, which has been under discussion for several years, is intended to respond more rapidly to militant attacks and rising organised crime across West Africa.
A senior Nigerian military official told AFP that participating countries had begun pledging troop contributions, with the initial objective of assembling around 2,000 soldiers ready to deploy against “terrorism and insecurity” in the region. While modest in size compared with multinational missions elsewhere on the continent, the contingent is being framed as a flexible and rapidly mobilised unit.
The vast Sahel region — a semi-arid belt stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea — has for more than a decade been convulsed by insurgencies led by groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Attacks on civilians, security forces and UN peacekeepers have intensified in recent years, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Those three states, all now under military juntas following coups between 2020 and 2023, have withdrawn from Ecowas after accusing the bloc of imposing punitive sanctions and failing to respect their sovereignty. They have since formed their own security pact, the Alliance of Sahel States, complicating regional coordination efforts.
Officials confirmed that Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger will not initially take part in the new Ecowas force. However, a West African chief of staff said they would be encouraged to cooperate operationally.
“They are in a part of the Sahel that is the epicentre of the fight against the terrorists. They must be included,” he said, suggesting that pragmatic security coordination could prevail despite political tensions.
During the Freetown meeting, military chiefs “painted a worrying picture of the regional security landscape”, according to a source briefed on the discussions. Concerns extended beyond jihadist attacks to encompass the expansion of transnational organised crime networks trafficking arms, drugs and people across porous borders. Maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea — long plagued by piracy and oil theft — also featured prominently.
Under the agreed framework, troops assigned to the force will remain based in their home countries but be placed on standby for joint operations. Freetown will serve as a logistical hub, according to a Sierra Leonean official, streamlining coordination and supply.
The financing of the initiative remains unresolved. Ecowas has historically struggled to fund ambitious security operations without significant external backing from partners such as the European Union or individual Western governments. Sources close to the talks said discussions were ongoing over contributions from member states and potential donor support.
The launch of the force comes as Western military involvement in the Sahel has sharply diminished. France withdrew its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger after relations deteriorated with junta leaders, while the United States has scaled back its presence. In their place, Russian security contractors have expanded their footprint in parts of the region.
Ecowas has yet to issue a formal communiqué on the new force. Nevertheless, the decision signals a determination among coastal West African states — including Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire — to prevent the southward spread of insurgent violence from the Sahel into relatively stable territories.
Regional officials insist that greater coordination, intelligence sharing and rapid deployment capability are essential if West Africa is to regain the initiative against an adaptive and entrenched militant threat.
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