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2w ago

ECOWAS Declares West Africa in a 'State of Emergency'

The bloc's leader urges intensified mediation with pooled resources to counter regional instability.

FILE - Soldiers ride in a military vehicle along a street amid an attempted coup in Cotonou Benin, Sunday Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo, file)
FILE - Omar Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, left, Gambia's President Adama Barrow,, center and Nigeria Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar pose for a photo, prior to the start of the ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga, file)

Overview

  • ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray made the declaration in Abuja to the bloc’s Mediation and Security Council, citing worsening political and security risks.
  • He proposed holding mediation sessions more frequently over the next year and pooling resources to confront terrorism and banditry that cross borders.
  • Touray warned that elections have become major flashpoints, describing a growing erosion of electoral inclusivity across multiple member states.
  • The announcement followed a failed coup attempt in Benin on Sunday and a military takeover in Guinea-Bissau that removed President Umaro Embaló and installed army chief Horta Inta-A.
  • Analysts said the move could aim to rebuild credibility after the unfulfilled 2023 intervention threat in Niger, while the declaration’s legal and operational effects remain unclear.