The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) reported 3,500 terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Republic in 2023, resulting in nearly 7,000 deaths, The Herald reports.
The Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musa, shared this while speaking at the weekly press briefing in Abuja.
Musa stated that the Sahel region is vulnerable and outlined the severe impact of the attacks, including food insecurity, internal displacement, and the closure of thousands of schools.
In Burkina Faso alone, close to 2,000 attacks were recorded, with over 1,000 in Mali and 500 in Niger Republic.
“In the three Sahel countries, a total of 4.8 million people faced food insecurity, 2.4 million people were internally displaced and close to 9,000 schools remain closed in the region.
“Burkina Faso has already taken over from Afghanistan,” he said.
Musa stated that the situation prompted ECOWAS to establish a counter-terrorism force to address the growing challenge.
He revealed that the force’s creation was underway, with plans to convene a meeting of Ministers of Finance and Defence to work out modalities for financing the initiative.
“On terrorism, you would recall that during the previous ECOWAS meeting, the Heads of State decided that there was a need to create a counter-terrorism force to help fight terrorism in the region. This is presently underway.
“Very soon, there will be a meeting of Ministers of Finance and Defence to work out the modalities of raising our own resources in the region to finance that counter-terrorism force,” he said.
Despite the formation of the Counter-Terrorism Force, ECOWAS has faced challenges, including military takeovers in member states such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.