Growing concern swept through the regional security space on Friday as the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, warned that terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel has reached a level that now threatens the very survival of the region.
Touray issued the alert while briefing the United Nations Security Council during its 10,047th meeting, where he presented an update on the worsening insecurity and collective counterterrorism efforts.
In the briefing released by the ECOWAS Commission, he explained that terror groups were increasingly shifting toward what he called “economic warfare,” attacking fuel supplies and major trade routes across several member states.
The ECOWAS president stressed that this evolving pattern of violence poses an existential danger to both Sahelian and coastal West African nations, many of which are already grappling with fragile security systems.
Touray highlighted several ongoing steps by the bloc to restore stability, including diplomatic engagement and trust-building efforts with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the three countries that recently withdrew from ECOWAS.
He also discussed socio-economic interventions designed to reduce the conditions that allow violent extremism to flourish, noting that both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches were being deployed.
A key point in his briefing was the accelerated operationalisation of the ECOWAS Standby Force, a regional military response mechanism expected to reinforce counterterrorism operations across affected states.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also addressed the Council, voicing alarm over the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel and calling for stronger international collaboration.
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, who chaired the session as the current leader of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, described terrorism as a global crisis that demands united global action.
Violence linked to extremist groups has surged in West Africa over the past decade, with jihadist factions tied to al-Qaeda and Islamic State expanding from northern Mali into Burkina Faso and Niger. Their spread has taken advantage of porous borders and weakened national security institutions.
By the early 2020s, Burkina Faso had become one of the most violent terrorism hotspots worldwide, while militant groups pushed steadily toward coastal states including Benin, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire.
Regional cooperation has also suffered setbacks following military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea, which disrupted joint operations and weakened ECOWAS’ coordination mechanism.
The exit of crucial international missions, including France’s Operation Barkhane and the UN’s MINUSMA peacekeeping force, further reduced external support at a time extremist networks were deepening their reach.
Faced with these pressures, ECOWAS has begun recalibrating its security strategy and accelerating plans for a regional standby counterterrorism force. The first phase will deploy 1,650 personnel, with a structured expansion to 5,000 troops as more support becomes available.
Touray assured the UN Council that ECOWAS remains committed to working closely with the UN, African Union and other partners to safeguard peace, stability and resilience across the region.
