The Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone Timothy Musa Kabba has refuted claims by the military regimes of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso that West Africa’s ECOWAS is under foreign influence.
Kabba who has been the mediator between ECOWAS and the coalition of the Mali, Burkina-Faso and Niger republic’s military leaders made this known at an interview on BBC’s Newsday radio.
The three countries jointly announced their exit from ECOWAS on Sunday, while stating that the regional committee is “under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles” and “has become a threat to member states and peoples”.
Mr Kabba, told the BBC’s Newsday radio programme that the claims are “unfortunate” as ECOWAS’ intervention was intended to “find a solution to the impasse” and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.
“We are not in any way under the influence of any external power to mediate between ECOWAS and Nigerien authorities,” he added.
Relations between ECOWAS and the three countries have been tense after the committee suspended their membership and hit them with economic sanctions, following coups in Niger Republic in 2023, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020.
