Members of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS have agreed to establish a regional force to tackle jihadism and coups.
The President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray, told Journalists at a summit in Nigeria that the leaders have decided to secure their region by themselves.
According to him, ECOWAS leaders are more than ever before committed and determined ”to establish a regional force that will intervene in the event of need, whether this is in the area of security, terrorism and restore constitutional order in member countries.”
He noted that the regional force would not stop the already existing relationship with the UN, France and Russai in terms of military support but the move was just to restructure the region’s security apparatus.
He added that the defence chiefs of all members states would take care of the modalities of the regional security force when established.
In the last two years, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso have all been hit by military coups, while many other countries in the region are also suffering from the spread of jihadism.