The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders met for a summit in Nigeria s capital Abuja with the region in crisis after coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger since 2020 and two attempted coups elsewhere in recent weeks.
The UN Security Council unanimously voted on June 30 to end a decade-long peacekeeping mission in Mali after the junta abruptly asked the 13,000-strong force to leave - a move the United States said was engineered by the Wagner Group.