Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have officially withdrawn from ECOWAS, the major West African regional alliance. The alliance provides its members with visa-free travel and favorable trade tariffs among other perks. The three nations had announced their intentions to leave the alliance last year, and negotiations then failed to reach an agreement that would incentivize them to stay. The countries have cited their reason for exiting the bloc as essential for sovereignty, as the group had pressured the countries to return to civilian democratic rule. Instead, the three juntas are forming the Alliance of Sahelian States (A.E.S.) and creating a military force with 5,000 troops. 

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/world/africa/ecowas-burkina-faso-mali-niger.html