West African military chiefs meeting on Thursday in Freetown, Sierra Leone, underscored the imperative of closer coordination between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) as plans gather pace to operationalise an ECOWAS standby force.
The high-level talks, chaired by Sierra Leone’s President and ECOWAS Chair, Julius Maada Bio, are centred on mobilising an initial 2,000 troops by the end of 2026. The proposed force is intended to counter the growing spread of terrorism across West Africa, including mounting threats to coastal States.
Despite the recent withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from ECOWAS to establish the AES, participants stressed the need for structured engagement between the two blocs to safeguard regional stability.
Member states are expected to clarify their respective troop contributions, with discussions emphasising self-financing and the prioritisation of internal resources before turning to external partners.
The renewed drive to activate the ECOWAS Standby Force comes against a backdrop of escalating violence. Data from the Global Terrorism Index indicates that more than half of global terrorism-related deaths in 2024 occurred in West Africa, reinforcing calls for a swift and coordinated regional security response.