ECOWAS : Leaders Agree To Create Regional Force

Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have agreed to create a regional peacekeeping force which would intervene to help restore constitutional order in the region and fight jihadism. The decision taken on Sunday, December 4, 2022 in the Nigerian capital Abuja comes on the heels of a number of coups in the regions for the past two years. In less than a decade, the West and Central Africa has made strides that have shed its reputation as a “coup belt”, but the Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS), wants to do more to boost constitutional government in its member States. “The leaders of ECOWAS have decided to recalibrate our security architecture to ensure that we take care of our own security in the region,” the leaders said in a final communique. “The leaders are determined to establish a regional force that will intervene in the event of need, whether this is in the area of security, terrorism or to restore constitutional order in member countries.” they emphasized. ECOWAS did not give any details of how the force would be constituted, but said defense chiefs would meet next month to work out how it would operate. The funding of the force would also be decided, but the ECOWAS official stressed that such an operation could not be solely dependent on voluntary contributions. 
The ECOWAS leaders also expressed concern over the continued detention of 46 Ivorian soldiers in Mali. They asked Malian authorities to release the soldiers by December 31, 2022 at midnight. Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe, who has been mediating between Mali and Ivory Coast on the issue, will travel to Mali to “dem...