The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced Wednesday that efforts to form a regional counter-terrorism force are “in full gear” as insurgent violence escalates across the region.
Recent attacks in Nigeria and Benin have underscored the urgency, with insurgents exploiting divisions among ECOWAS and the breakaway states of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
The Sahel’s porous borders have allowed insurgent groups to operate freely, while military cooperation has frayed since the trio’s withdrawal from ECOWAS earlier this year.
“Countries have indicated their preparedness to contribute troops,” said ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray in an interview with France 24. A joint meeting of finance and defence ministers is expected before mid-June to secure funding.
Nigeria’s Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru previously pledged that the force would protect civilians and restore security across affected zones.
Over 100 people were killed in northeastern Nigeria in April alone, in insurgent assaults targeting villages and military outposts. The violence has persisted into May, deepening regional instability.
Benin has also seen a deadly rise in cross-border attacks, including an ambush that killed 54 soldiers last month. Authorities blame the violence on spillover from neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.
Touray warned that deteriorating ties with Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso — now aligned under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — are undermining collective security efforts.
In March, Niger pulled out of a joint task force with Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon, weakening regional patrols and intelligence sharing around Lake Chad.
“Disunity makes it harder to collaborate against insecurity, including terrorism,” Touray said. “Even if AES countries have left ECOWAS, we must find ways to cooperate on security.”
The Sahel is now the global epicentre of extremist violence, accounting for half of all terrorism-related deaths in 2024, according to the Global Terrorism Index.