Ecowas warns of ‘disintegration’ as juntas split from west African bloc

Breakaway union by military rulers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger exposes growing fissures within the region

The leader of the Ecowas grouping of west African countries has warned the region faces “disintegration” after three military rulers cemented their own breakaway union over the weekend.

Parallel meetings of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – comprising Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – in Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Saturday and the Economic Community of West African States in Abuja on Sunday exposed growing fissures within the unstable region, pitting neighbours against each other.