With immediate effect, three West African nations—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—announced their decision to leave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

These nations, which are presently governed by Junta Leaders, declared on Sunday that they would be leaving the ECOWAS.

The nations released a joint statement on Sunday stating, “After 49 years, the valiant peoples of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger regretfully and with great disappointment observe that the (ECOWAS) organisation has drifted from the ideals of its founding fathers and the spirit of Pan-Africanism.”

Following their coups and defiance of the regional body’s order to revert to civilian governance, the three nations were previously suspended from ECOWAS.

“Indeed, the organization has not provided assistance to our States in the context of our existential fight against terrorism and insecurity; worse, when these States decided to take their destiny into their own hands, it adopted an irrational and unacceptable posture by imposing illegal, illegitimate, inhumane and irresponsible sanctions in violation of its own texts; all things which have further weakened populations

already bruised by years of violence imposed by instrumentalized and remote-controlled terrorist hordes.”