The Chiefs of Staff of the countries of the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) began this Thursday, May 5 in Accra (Ghana) a two-day meeting aimed at strengthening military cooperation in the region. plagued by growing insecurity.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are grappling with jihadist insurgencies and neighboring states such as Ghana, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire are worried about overflows at their borders.
Addressing the representatives of the Chiefs of Defense Staff in Accra, capital of Ghana, the Ghanaian Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, spoke about the armed and criminal groups which fuel the increase in insecurity. He said that in three years, the region had suffered more than 5,300 attacks attributed to terrorists, which left around 16,000 dead and more displaced. Between January and March 2022, more than 840 attacks took place in West Africa.
During this “extraordinary meeting” which is due to end on Friday, the minister called for greater intelligence sharing to better monitor jihadist groups.
Growing insecurity in West Africa
“As professionals, we must resolve to bury our differences imposed by our nationality, our culture (…) and move forward with greater collaboration”, insisted Dominic Nitiwul.
After military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, ECOWAS suspended these countries from its bodies and imposed economic sanctions. However, she authorized representatives of the three countries to participate in this meeting due to the urgency of the situation.
“It’s a good way to do things, to ensure that we work together to put an end to the threat of terrorism in our sub-region”, added the minister.
Starting in northern Mali, a jihadist insurgency of fighters affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Daesh group has spread to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso. In Burkina, attacks by jihadists have killed more than 1,200 people since 2015 and caused the displacement of more than a million people.
At the end of February, Niger’s President, Mohamed Bazoum, announced that he had started “discussions” with jihadists to promote peace. However, military operations continue with nearly 12,000 Nigerien soldiers fighting in a dozen anti-jihadist operations, nearly half of them along the 1,400 km border with Mali and Burkina Faso.