(FILES) A local resident walks past the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Lagos office in Lagos on September 24, 2024. (Photo by Olympia DE MAISMONT / AFP) Junta-led countries Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have officially withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States. They officially exited West Africa’s main political and trade group on Wednesday after more than a year of diplomatic tensions. The withdrawal has shaken ECOWAS, which many consider to be the continent’s most important regional group and this year marks its 50th anniversary. While its leadership said in a statement that the group would “keep ECOWAS doors open” to the three countries, their departure has left the organisation’s future uncertain. The rupture was sparked by the July 2023 coup in Niger, after military
