NAIROBI, January 28. /TASS/. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have decided to quit the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) immediately, according to the joint statement by the three Sahel nations posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"Amid this situation … Captain Ibrahim Traore, Colonel Assimi Goita, and Brigadier General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, are taking responsibility in the face of history and meeting the call of the time and the people of their countries having decided to withdraw from ECOWAS," says the statement made public by Niger’s National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland.

According to the statement, instead of helping the three nations fight against terrorism, ECOWAS has only provoked a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Sahel countries by means of its sanctions.

In September 2023, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger established the Alliance of Sahel States, a collective defense bloc, which stated that any violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any of its members would be seen as an aggression against all and would require their assistance, including the use of force.

The three countries have been ravaged by radical armed groups who attack both the countries’ military and civilians.