The initiative forms part of an accelerated effort to bolster regional security as extremist violence expands beyond traditional hotspots.

President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Alieu Omar Touray, revealed the plan while addressing the United Nations Security Council during a high-level discussion in New York on strengthening cooperation against terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel.

Dr. Touray disclosed that early-warning systems in the region have recorded 450 terrorist attacks and nearly 2,000 deaths in 2025 alone, underscoring the severity of the crisis. He cautioned that terrorist activity, once concentrated in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, has now spread across the wider West African subregion, posing a direct threat to regional stability.

He also warned that violent extremist groups are increasingly engaging in “economic warfare,” deliberately targeting critical infrastructure by restricting fuel supplies, disrupting trade corridors, and destabilising local economies to weaken states and entrench their influence.

“To confront the escalating violence, ECOWAS is fast-tracking the deployment of its standby force, starting with 1,650 troops, with plans to scale up to 5,000 personnel through additional contributions from member states and support from international partners,” he said.

However, Dr. Touray noted that significant challenges remain. Fragmented national responses, mistrust among neighbouring states, weak intelligence-sharing frameworks, and limited operational coordination continue to hamper regional counterterrorism efforts.

He appealed to the UN Security Council to support initiatives aimed at restoring trust among member states, securing predictable and sustainable funding, and strengthening collaborative mechanisms in the fight against terrorism.

Dr. Touray stressed that ECOWAS’ ability to tackle the growing insurgency would depend on unified political will and deeper international partnerships to prevent further deterioration of security across West Africa.

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They killed dozens of students at an elite police training academy, stormed Bamako’s airport and set the presidential jet on fire.

The Sept. 17 attack was the most brazen since 2016 in a capital city in the Sahel, a vast arid region stretching across sub-Saharan Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

It showed that jihadist groups with links to al Qaeda or Islamic State, whose largely rural insurgency has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, can also strike at the heart of power.

Overshadowed by wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan, conflict in the Sahel rarely garners global headlines, yet it is contributing to a sharp rise in migration from the region towards Europe at a time when anti-immigrant far-right parties are on the rise and some EU states are tightening their borders.

According to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), the route to Europe with the steepest rise in numbers this year is via West African coastal nations to Spain’s Canary Islands.

IOM data shows the number of migrants arriving in Europe from Sahel countries (Burkina, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal) rose 62% to 17,300 in the first six months of 2024 from 10,700 a year earlier, a rise the U.N. and the IOM have blamed on conflict and climate change.

Fifteen diplomats and experts told Reuters the swathes of territory under jihadist control also risk becoming training grounds and launchpads for more attacks on major cities such as Bamako, or neighbouring states and Western targets, in the region or beyond.

Jihadi violence, especially the heavy toll it has taken on government troops, was a major factor in a wave of military coups since 2020 against Western-backed governments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, the countries at the heart of the Sahel.

The military juntas that replaced them have since swapped French and U.S. military assistance for Russians, mainly from Wagner’s mercenary outfit, but have continued to lose ground.

“I don’t really see the regimes in Mali, Niger and Burkina holding on forever. Eventually one of them is going to fall or one of them is going to lose a substantial amount of territory, which Burkina Faso already has,” said Caleb Weiss, an editor at the Long War Journal and an expert on jihadist groups.

“Then we’re dealing with a jihadi state or multiple jihadi states in the Sahel,” he said.

GLOBAL TERRORISM HOTSPOT

Western powers that previously invested in trying to beat back the jihadists have very little capacity left on the ground, especially since the junta in Niger last year ordered the U.S. to leave a sprawling desert drone base in Agadez.

U.S. troops and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used drones to track jihadists and shared intelligence with allies such as the French, who launched air strikes against the militants, and West African armies.

But the Americans were booted out after they angered Niger’s coup leaders by refusing to share intelligence and warning them against working with the Russians. The U.S. is still looking for a place to reposition its assets.

“Nobody else filled the gap of providing effective air surveillance or air support, so the jihadis are roaming freely in those three countries,” said Wassim Nasr, a senior research fellow at The Soufan Center, a think-tank in New York.

A Reuters analysis of data from U.S. crisis-monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) found that the number of violent events involving jihadi groups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has almost doubled since 2021.

Since the start of this year, there have been 224 attacks a month on average, up from 128 in 2021.

Insa Moussa Ba Sane, regional migration and displacement coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross, said conflict was a major factor behind the increase in migration from the West African coast, with rising numbers of women and families seen along the route.

“Conflicts are at the root of the problem, combined with the effects of climate change,” he said, describing how floods and droughts are both contributing to the violence and driving an exodus from rural to urban areas.

In Burkina Faso, perhaps the worst affected of all, jihadists affiliated with al Qaeda slaughtered hundreds of civilians in a day on Aug. 24 in the town of Barsalogho, two hours from the capital Ouagadougou.

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in Sydney said Burkina Faso topped its Global Terrorism Index for the first time this year, with fatalities rising 68% to 1,907 – a quarter of all terrorism-linked deaths worldwide.

About half of Burkina Faso is now beyond government control, the U.N. has said, a factor contributing to soaring rates of displacement.

“The two, big veteran terrorist (groups) are gaining ground. The threat is spreading geographically,” said Seidik Abba, president of the CIRES think-tank in Paris, referring to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

A U.N. panel of experts that monitors the two organisations’ activities estimates that JNIM, the al-Qaeda-aligned faction most active in the Sahel, had 5,000-6,000 fighters while 2,000-3,000 militants were linked to Islamic State.

“Their declared goal is to establish Islamic rule,” said Nasr of The Soufan Center.

Jihadists use a mixture of coercion and the offer of basic services, including local courts, to install their systems of governance over rural communities that have long complained of neglect by weak, corrupt, central governments.

“Come with us. We will leave your parents, sisters and brothers alone. Come with us and we will help you, we will give you money,” said a man from Mali, describing his encounters as a teenager with jihadists who attacked his village. “But you can’t trust them, because they kill your friends in front of you.”

The young man fled and made it to the Canary Islands last year before moving to Barcelona. He declined to be identified fearing reprisal attacks on family members still in Mali.

LAUNCHPAD SCENARIO

The jihadi groups operate in different areas, at times fighting each other, though they have also struck localised, non-aggression pacts, reports by U.N. experts say.

The groups receive some financial support, training and guidance from their respective global leaderships, but also collect taxes in areas they control and seize weapons after battles with government forces, the reports say.

European governments are divided on how to respond to the conflict. Southern European nations who receive most migrants favour keeping communication with the juntas open, while others object because of human rights and democracy concerns, nine diplomats in the region told Reuters.

One African diplomat said the EU needed to remain engaged as the issue of migration was not going to go away.

Even if Europe were to agree a shared approach, it lacks the military capacity and political relationships to help because the Sahelian countries don’t want Western input, the diplomats said.

“We do not have any influence in those countries on extremist groups,” said General Ron Smits, head of the Dutch Special Forces.

The other major worry for Western powers is the potential for the Sahel to become a base for global jihad, like Afghanistan or Libya in the past.

“All these violent extremist organisations do have aspirations of attacking the United States,” General Michael Langley, head of U.S. Africa Command, told reporters this month.

Other officials and experts, however, say the groups have not declared any interest in carrying out attacks in Europe or the United States as yet.

Will Linder, a retired CIA officer who runs a risk consultancy, said the attacks in Bamako and Barsalogho showed that efforts by the juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso to shore up security were failing.

“The leadership of both countries really need new strategies for countering their jihadist insurgencies,” he said.

Source: Reuters

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In her new role, Mary will be based in Lagos, Nigeria, and will oversee Delta’s sales and commercial operations across the West African region, including the airline’s key online stations in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. Additionally, she will support Delta’s joint venture partners, including Air France KLM and Virgin Atlantic.

Mary joins Delta with a wealth of experience in the aviation industry, having previously served as a Sales Manager for Nigeria at Emirates for nine years. Before her tenure at Emirates, she worked with Lufthansa German Airlines for six years, culminating in the position of Regional Manager for Key Accounts.

Mary’s extensive background in sales and management, coupled with her strong understanding of the aviation market, makes her an invaluable addition to Delta’s leadership team in West Africa.

Manoj Kuraikose, Delta’s General Manager Sales, Middle East, Africa, and India (MEAI) remarked on Mary’s appointment, stating, “I am excited to have her on board and look forward to the experience and knowledge she will bring to our already amazing team”.

Mary holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Business Information Technology and Marketing from London Metropolitan University, as well as a GNVQ Advanced in Business Studies from Westminster Kingsway College in London, UK.

On the personal front, Mary is married and a proud mother of 2 children, ages 10 years and 8 years. Mary is also a music lover, although not a professional singer but has a passion for singing in the church choir.

Reflecting on her appointment, Mary disclosed: “One of the reasons I chose to work with Delta is because its core values—integrity, resilience, honesty, and servant leadership—resonate deeply with me”.

“I am grateful to Delta’s leadership team for entrusting me with the opportunity to steward the brand within the West African region. I am excited to leverage my commercial expertise and collaborate with the team across my markets to further strengthen Delta’s footprint in this dynamic region,”  she stated.

Delta Air Lines remains committed to expanding its presence in West Africa and enhancing its service offerings in the region.

With the addition of Mary Gbobaniyi to the team, the airline anticipates further growth and success in its West African operations.

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This is higher than the 17.4% it earlier predicted.

It also means inflation would remain outside the Bank of Ghana’s bound of 8%±2.

AfDB said the outlook is clouded by several factors.

These are the impact of fiscal consolidation under the post-Covid Programme for Economic Growth, the lingering effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, limited access to finance and foreign exchange, and global macroeconomic shocks.

However, it said prudent macroeconomic management policies could mitigate the risks.

Furthermore, it said the Consumer Price Index would narrow to 11.1% in 2025.

Meanwhile, the average consumer price inflation in Africa is estimated to have increased by 3.0 percentage points to 17% in 2023, from 14.0% in 2022.

East Africa recorded the highest inflation at 26.5% in 2023, with Sudan leading the way at 245.3%.  West Africa has the second highest at 20.3%, with Sierra Leone and Ghana topping the list.

The report said the higher inflation across Africa has eroded socioeconomic gains made before the COVID-19 outbreak.

The increase reflects a combination of higher local food prices induced by drought-related domestic supply shortages, liquidity overhangs from pandemic-related fiscal and monetary policy stimulus undertaken in 2020–21, and the pass-through effects of currency depreciation against a strong US dollar propelled by high interest rates in the United States. Across regions, the inflation picture is mixed.

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She emphasised the need for a more nuanced understanding of the current challenges, acknowledging both the shortcomings of existing democratic models and the importance of safeguarding democratic principles.

She said this at a roundtable discussion aimed at fostering collaboration among Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in West Africa to strengthen democracy and good governance in the region.

“In today’s democracy, marked by shifting geopolitical dynamics and a weaker ECOWAS, we must address challenges such as the resurgence of coup d’état threats in the region. This roundtable provides a vital platform for CSOs to share insights and collaborate on collective solutions, drawing from experiences in affected countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

“Furthermore, the evolving landscape sees new voices within CSOs, including individuals acting as institutions, necessitating adaptive strategies to confront issues worsened by technology and insecurity”, she said.

ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye, the Regional Director for Ford Foundation West Africa, echoed Nana Afadzinu’s concerns and commended the role of CSOs in promoting democratic ideals.

She stated the need for self-reflection within the CSO community and urged a renewed commitment to advocating for citizen-centred democracy that delivers tangible benefits to the people.

”To safeguard against future military interventions, it’s important for CSOs to engage in shaping democratic governance that serves the people. By identifying systemic failures and working towards civilian-led solutions, we can ensure a future where democracy benefits everyone.

“This necessitates open dialogue and honest conversations to address existing challenges and restore ECOWAS’s commitment to democratic principles”, she mentioned.

For her part, Martin Abregu, Vice President of International Programs at the Ford Foundation, said, “Participants should embrace humility and adaptability in navigating the complexities of the current political landscape.

“We must look at the importance of rethinking transnational solidarity and international cooperation in the face of evolving global dynamics”.

The civil society organizations who spoke at the event argued that democracy was declining in West Africa because people want good governance regardless of what form it comes in, including military rule and civilian governments are not providing good governance.

They blamed worsening economic conditions, authoritarian civilian governments, imperialism, manipulation of election results, corruption and weak judiciaries for citizens tilting towards a preference for military rule.

However, the participants also highlighted key priorities for advancing democracy in West Africa. Learning from success stories like Senegal’s recent transition, they emphasised the importance of boosting public engagement through innovative channels such as social media.

Strengthening democratic institutions, including the media and judiciary, alongside the need to reform electoral processes for greater inclusivity and credibility.

Additionally, fostering collaboration among civil society organisations, involving new stakeholders like the private sector and diaspora, was emphasized. Participants also underscored the imperative of countering external influence on democratic processes, advocating for African-driven solutions.

The Civil Society Roundtable Discussion, co-convened by the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WASCI) and Ford Foundation is expected to stimulate continued dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders committed to advancing democracy and governance in West Africa, amid ongoing political transitions and emerging threats as well as inform future efforts to promote inclusive and resilient democracies across the continent.

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According to Prof. Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, the West African state has failed to recognise that coup d’états are not unconstitutional attempts to change the government but are rather the results of unconstitutional changes by the ruling government.

He explained that African leaders or ruling governments must realise that there are problems with their administration including corruption and bad governance.

“More coups may come if we don’t sit up and realise that unconstitutional change in government is not just about coming to power through unconstitutional means but trying to stay in power and trying to foment divisional interest in order to maintain power and rely on corrupt governance to stay in power.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, the professor cited some factors which may lead to the plotting of coups and noted that a coup may also occur when a government refuses to leave power after losing an election.

“The other is where a government decides to change the constitution in order to stay in power beyond the normal two-term time limit,” he stated.

On the back of this, Prof Appiagyei-Atua said that the environment is changing and that democracy cannot be guaranteed.

He asserted that more coup d’état may occur if West African leaders rush to overthrow the junta in Niger and restore democracy.

“Now in Niger, the West has come to realise that if we say that we’re just abandoning Niger, then we’re allowing Wagner (group in Niger) to come in and take over.

“US has spent a lot of money in terms of security in Niger and so they want to protect that interest. China is also in Niger and they have their interest to protect so the geopolitics is thickening very fast, especially in West Africa. We need to therefore be very careful about how we tackle this issue and not make a rush decision and say that we are going to Niger to overthrow the government and restore democracy, it is easier said than done,” he said.

He, however, suggested that the West African leaders should adopt a more pragmatic approach that can resolve the coup in Niger and the ones which may come up.

The money will go into investments in various forms in countries such as Ghana and those in the West Indies.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Rev. and Rt Hon. Justin Portal Welby, announced this when he paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House in Accra last Tuesday.

Most Rev. Welby, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, is in the country to attend the 18th Consultative Council meeting of 165 countries, and said one of the issues that the meeting had been discussing was human sexuality and identity.

In June 2022, a committee established by the church reported for the first time that the Church Commissioners’ endowment had historic links to transatlantic chattel slavery.

The endowment traces its origins partly to Queen Anne’s Bounty, a fund established in 1704.

In response to the findings, the Church Commissioners’ Board has committed itself to trying to address some of the past wrongs by investing in a better future.

It will seek to do this through committing £100 million of funding, delivered over the next nine years commencing in 2023, to a programme of investment, research and engagement.

This will involve new impact investment, grant funding, further research and responsible investment to address and combat modern slavery and human rights violations, and to seek to address injustice and inequalities.

A new oversight group will be formed during 2023 with a significant membership from communities impacted by historic slavery.

This group will work with the Church Commissioners on shaping and delivering the response, listening widely to ensure this work is done sensitively and with accountability.

Cape Coast

Archbishop Welby indicated that the team would be visiting Cape Coast to learn together with the First Church Commissioner from Barbados, who runs the Finances of the Church of England and is involved in the decision to commit the 100 million pounds.

That amount, he said, would impact investment in those countries as a means of sharing their sorrows of the church’s part involvement in slavery.

“We are the first church to do this on international scale as part of the beginning of a long process of engagement which I trust will go well with the Ghanaian government as well as the governments of West Indies”, he added.

AU

President Akufo-Addo, for his part, welcomed the interventions on slavery and said Ghana had taken a forward position on reparation.

“In fact, I have had it tabled to be an issue of discussion in Addis Abba this weekend at the AU summit, where we are moving for the establishment of an African reparatory programme and commitment”, he added.

That, he explained, would spearhead the discussion on the matter so that the steps taken by those in Africa would be coherent, well thought out and recognise all the implications.

Director of the Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Prof. Kwesi Aning, is predicting a couple of coup de’tats in the West African Region.

He said if the regional bloc, ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) does not urgently resolve the insecurity threats in the region.

This, he said, is a result of the trajectory of extreme violence and the toxicity in politics such as excessive corruption, unemployment, poor educational system and other underlying factors of political instability present in most West African countries.

Speaking in relation to host Samson Lardy Anyenini on the Burkina Faso crisis on Newsfile, Saturday, Prof. Aning said the region is likely to experience two more of such political instability between now and June 2023.

“This would not be the end of it. Between now and June 2023, we would see similar things happen. Probably two more. If we don’t stem the tides between now and 2023 then we get two more, the pack of cards will begin to fall,” he said.

According to him, West African leaders must engage in quality intelligence and risk assessment analysis to inform preventive actions against coup occurrence in the region.

Prof Kwesi Aning said the region is experiencing coups not because of the military thirst for power but how democracy is implemented in the sub-region.

Prof. Aning added that for West African countries to pull the brakes on the instability experienced, unconstitutional acts such as changing the constitutional processes must be avoided.

“What is failing West Africa and the Sahel is not the military sped chant for power; unfortunately, it is democracy and how we run it and implement it that is failing us…Pulling back from that brake, unconstitutionality is when the military takes power and when people play games with the constitutional process… So we need to expand that physiology and to ensure we do things differently,” he stated.

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The West African region has experienced three different coups within a year. The most recent is the Burkina Faso coup, where military leader Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, together with some mutinies, deposed President Roch Kabore.

The coup was due to deepening anger about Kabore’s response to violence by armed groups.

The ECOWAS has already condemned the coup and is hoping to restore order in Burkina Faso.

The forum is to provide knowledge for medical laboratory professionals, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The conference will be under the theme combating emerging and re-emerging infections through standardisation of laboratory practice across West Africa.

The meeting, among other issues, will deliberate on how to balance COVID-19 pandemic response while protecting public health gains in laboratory diagnosis of HIV, TB, and Malaria

This year’s conference, which happens to be the 7th, has been scheduled for April 21 and 22, 2021.

The conference promotes laboratory quality management goals throughout the region and convened medical laboratory professionals, researchers, clinicians, policymakers, regulators and vendors, from in and outside of West Africa.

It will also discuss the latest developments and initiatives for strengthening health laboratory systems across national borders.

“The 7th annual meeting of laboratory scientists, researchers, clinicians, regulators, policymakers and other players in the health care team, will place emphasis on how stronger health laboratory systems in the sub-region will help prevent emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases,” the outfit said in a statement.

The West African Laboratory Scientists and Researchers will share experiences and best practices on the benefits of “Creating Standards in laboratory practice across
the West Africa region.”

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It will also examine the issue of Biological and Hazardous Waste Management
in the Era of COVID-19.

CelebrateLAB is an annual meeting of Medical Laboratory Professionals, Researchers, Clinicians, Policy Makers and Regulators, highlighting diagnostics and research across the West Africa region.

The conference takes place during the International Lab Week that celebrates the role of Medical Laboratory Professionals in health outcomes.

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Welcoming the declaration by His Excellency Alassane Ouattara, President for the West African Economic and Monitory Union (UEMOA) and the Republic of Cote D’Ivoire, the Jubilee House expressed the country’s preparedness to use the new currency when officially released for trading transactions.

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When in circulation, Ghana will switch from the use of the African Financial Community (CFA) to the ECO to transact business across all west African states.

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The new currency ECO, is expected to help remove trade and monetary barriers, reduce transportation costs and boost economic activities in all west African states.  

Read full details of press release below:

After gathering dozens of testimonies, BBC Africa Eye sent undercover journalists posing as students inside the University of Lagos and the University of Ghana.

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Female reporters were sexually harassed, propositioned and put under pressure by senior lecturers at the institutions – all the while wearing secret cameras.

Reporter Kiki Mordi, who knows first-hand how devastating sexual harassment can be, reveals what happens behind closed doors at some of the region’s most prestigious universities.

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Source: BBC

Six survivors walked to a remote village where they said that 44 people, mostly from Ghana and Nigeria and including three babies and two other children, died of thirst, said Lawal Taher, the department head for the Red Cross in the Bilma region.

Reuters and the authorities in Niger were unable to immediately confirm their account, but Taher said the Red Cross had told officials and that a search for the bodies was underway.

The number of migrants who cross the Sahara has increased in recent years as impoverished West Africans risk their lives to try to reach Europe.

In one of the most perilous parts of the journey, thousands of migrants each week are crammed into pickup trucks for the days-long ride from Niger into Libya, often with only enough room for a few litres of water.

Authorities and aid organisations are able to keep track of the thousands of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Sea between Africa and Europe, but is it almost impossible to know how many have died in the vast and unpoliced Sahara.

Last year, a report by 4mi, an affiliate of the Danish Refugee Council, reported that it is likely that more migrants die in the desert than at sea, according to testimony from migrants.