African states to create regional counterterrorism force

West Africa’s fight against terrorism has intensified with the announcement of plans to create a regional counterterrorism force, as reported by Africa News via AFP on March 4th.

Reportedly, the 12-member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc met in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to discuss the growing Islamist threat in the region.

The initial goal is to have 2,000 troops stationed in their own countries to address “terrorism and insecurity” across West Africa, with Sierra Leone serving as the force’s logistical base.

ECOWAS’ membership consists of former French colonies, including Benin, which is experiencing rising Islamist violence due to its borders with Niger and Nigeria.

Niger and Benin share a history as French colonies; however, Benin’s continued ties to Paris have led Niger to, without evidence, accuse it of supporting terrorism in the region.

In recent years, violence from groups affiliated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda has been growing throughout Africa, particularly in the Sahel.

Despite the rising Islamist threat in the Sahel, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which are all junta-led, withdrew from ECOWAS in January 2025 after the bloc condemned military coups in the Sahel and demanded a return to civilian rule.

Prior to the 2023 military coup that ousted the pro-Western President, Mohamed Bazoum, and installed Niger’s Abdourahamane Tchiani as leader, the country had been a Western ally in the Sahel.

Following their ECOWAS exit, the three Sahel allies founded the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a cooperation pact designed to counter terrorism through shared military and intelligence resources.

The founding AES members also rejected Western ties in favour of strategic and security ties with Russia, despite the presence of Russian mercenaries being controversial due to allegations of human rights abuses.

Furthermore, the AES founders have struggled to contain jihadist insurgencies, forcing their leaders to seek Russian support, usually in exchange for access to natural resources, such as gold.

Reportedly, although the AES has rejected the Western-aligned ECOWAS, a West African chief of staff has said that the Sahel states will be encouraged to cooperate with the regional new counterterrorism force.

The chief of staff said that the three countries “are in a part of the Sahel that is the epicentre of the fight against the jihadists. They must be included.”

Africa News via AFP, Maghrebi.org