ECOWAS

ADF STAFF Coup attempts were frequent in Africa in the post-independence and Cold War periods.  By comparison, the past 20 or so years have been quiet. From 2011 through 2020, the continent averaged fewer than one completed coup per…

ADF STAFF The recent outbreak of coups in West Africa has cast a spotlight on some shortcomings in transitioning back to democracy. Since 2020, military juntas have swept to power in Mali (2021, 2022), Burkina Faso (twice in 2022) and…

ADF STAFF When he opened a recent meeting of the regional bloc he chairs, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló urged a new response to West Africa’s rash of coups. He was speaking from experience, having escaped a failed coup that…

ADF STAFF Mali’s decision to quit the G5 Sahel Joint Force in May has sent ripples of insecurity across the region. In speaking to the United Nations Security Council at the time, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Ama…

ADF STAFF The leaders of Mali’s ruling junta recently met with a high-level delegation of West African leaders seeking the release of 46 Côte d’Ivoire Soldiers held in Mali since July, a reflection of Mali’s increasingly strained…

ADF STAFF Restoring security was the main justification used by coup leaders in Burkina Faso and Mali when they seized power. New data shows they are not delivering on these promises. In fact, both countries at mid-year were on pace…

ADF STAFF The sleepy forests and villages of the Foni Kansala district in The Gambia erupted January 24 as Soldiers chased a truck filled with timber. What followed was the latest spasm of violence in the Casamance region of Senegal,…

ADF STAFF The news that a junta had overthrown Burkinabe President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, the only democratically elected head of state in the country’s history, had a familiar ring to it. It was the fourth successful military…

ADF STAFF As a crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered in Ouagadougou’s national square after the announcement of a military coup, there was an unusual sight: Russian flags being waved in celebration. West Africa’s third coup in…

ADF STAFF West African officials are saying that the scourge of illegal fishing can only be addressed with a regionally united front. They are calling for greater cooperation on fisheries management, patrols and enforcement in…