The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced plans to set up a 260,000-strong counter-terrorism brigade across the region. ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray revealed this at the inaugural African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit in Abuja, where he was represented by Abdel-Fattah Musah, the commissioner for political affairs, peace and security.
Touray said the force would provide logistics and financial support to frontline states battling terrorism and violent extremism. He added that ministers of finance and defence from member states will meet in Abuja on Friday to finalise an annual budget of 2.5 billion dollars for the initiative.
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The ECOWAS leader explained that the regional force will complement the African Union’s standby force under the African Peace and Security Architecture. He warned that the Sahel has become the global epicentre of terrorism, accounting for more than half of related deaths worldwide in 2024.
Touray urged the African Union and the United Nations to support the operations, in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2719 of December 2023, which pledged to fund 75 percent of African-led peacekeeping missions.
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