The Sahel Countries Put Their Forces on “High Alert” After ECOWAS Decision

The Sahel countries (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso) have decided to place their armed forces on “high alert” and accused the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of attempting to “destabilize” them, in a new escalation that increases tensions in a region threatened by terrorism and the international conflict between Russia and the West.

The three Sahel countries, ruled by military councils, have cut ties with France in recent years, turned toward an alliance with Russia, and decided to withdraw from the ECOWAS organization, forming a new coalition called the “Sahel States Alliance,” aligned with Moscow.

Last week, West African leaders held a summit in Nigeria, giving the Sahel countries a six-month deadline to reverse their decision to withdraw from the regional organization, which was made in January 2024 and will take effect in January 2025.

The final statement from the regional organization summit declared that they would consider the period from January 29, 2025, to July 29, 2025, as a transitional period, during which the doors of ECOWAS would remain open to the three countries.

In the first response from the Sahel country leaders, the military rulers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso issued a statement on Sunday rejecting the deadline set by ECOWAS. They considered it “an external attempt to destabilize the region.”

The Sahel leaders added that ECOWAS’s decision was “another attempt that would allow the French clique and its supporters to continue planning and executing destabilizing actions against the Sahel States Alliance.”

The Sahel countries described the ECOWAS decision as “unilateral” and stated that it was “non-binding on the Sahel States Alliance.” They reiterated that their decision to leave the regional organization was “irreversible.”

They added that instead of starting cooperation and coordination between ECOWAS and the Sahel States Alliance to address the “technical aspects of the immediate withdrawal,” the heads of states were surprised by the unilateral extension decision, which they cannot be bound by.

In a first-of-its-kind escalation since the beginning of the crisis, the ruling military councils of the Sahel countries have mobilized their armed forces in anticipation of any move by ECOWAS to destabilize the region.

The Sahel States Council stated that the decision to put forces on “high alert” was due to attempts by what they called the “French military clique and their allies” to destabilize the region. The council also added that targeting the Sahel countries was the result of “this new strategic position of creating the Sahel Confederation, driven by the legitimate aspirations for freedom and peace.”

It confirmed that since breaking ties with Paris, “the imperialist French clique, feeling its interests threatened, with the support of some regional leaders, has been trying to put an end to the liberation dynamics launched by the Sahel Confederation,” according to the statement.

The Sahel States Council further expressed regret, noting that destabilization efforts within the Sahel Confederation were being regularly orchestrated by heads of states imposing their external agendas on the rest of the ECOWAS members.

It said that they were closely monitoring what they called “deceptive maneuvers started by the French military clique, using the excuse of closing their military bases in some African countries, only to replace them with less transparent arrangements aiming to achieve the same neo-colonial objectives.”

This refers to France’s new strategy of restructuring its military presence in Africa after withdrawing from the Sahel countries, with the latest withdrawal being from Chad, focusing instead on Djibouti, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.