By KEMO CHAM

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Sahelian neighbours Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger on Sunday announced their exit from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), edging closer to a threat earlier made to create a rival organisation they say is meant strengthen Pan-Africanism.

The three landlocked countries have been under military coups for at least the past year. And they are each under sanctions by the West African bloc as well as suspended from the African Union (AU), both of which abhor military coups in their formative laws.

Ecowas is an amalgamation of 15 countries in West Africa and established to promote regional integration through free movement of their people and trade.  

Read: Military coups in Africa: What determines a return to civilian rule

The bloc has come under pressure since August 2020 when the military in Mali staged a coup, removing its democratically elected leader. Amid efforts to return the country to civilian rule, the military staged a second coup within a year in 2021.

Since then, a total of six successful coups have been staged in the region, with four countries currently under military rule.

There have been at least five other failed coup bids, including two in Guinea Bissau, two in Sierra Leone and one in Gambia.

The latest undemocratic takeover of government in the region occurred in Niger in July 2023.

Both Mali and Burkina Faso, which also saw two coups in nine months, had set up transition timetables to return to civilian rule.

The leaders of the three countries in a statement released on Sunday described as injustice the sanctions imposed on their countries, vowing to leave the bloc "without delay."

"After 49 years, the valiant peoples of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger regretfully and with great disappointment observe that the organisation (Ecowas) has drifted from the ideals of its founding fathers and the spirit of Pan-Africanism," a Niger government spokesman, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, said in a joint statement read on live television in Niame.

Read: Ecowas gathers for key summit on Niger coup

"The organisation notably failed to assist these states in their existential fight against terrorism and insecurity," he added.

They said in the statement that their move was a "sovereign decision".

All three countries have been struggling to deal with militia violence and poverty.

Despite the tension between the two, the Niger leadership was hoping for a resolution of the disagreement with Ecowas which has led to heavy sanctions on its, through talks.

Sunday’s development comes a day after an Ecowas delegation expected in Niame failed to turn up. The bloc cited technical challenges.

The three last year announced the formation of the "Alliance of Sahel States" which they hope to use to restore stability and economic prosperity.

Relations between Ecowas and its member states under military rule deteriorated due to estranged relations with Western nations, particularly France which has been asked out in all three countries.

Read: Burkina Faso suspends French news outlet

France was a major source of support for the fight against the insurgencies in the region. Its withdrawal has seen tension increased in the region.

But the military regimes and their supporters have accused the western nations of being behind the instability, the effects of which have spilled over to neighbouring nations of Ghana, Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast in the larger Gulf of Guinea.