West African leaders pledge $1 billion to counter Takfiri terrorism

The leaders of West African countries have announced a one-billion-dollar plan to combat the growing threat of Takfiri terrorism and violence in the region.

The plan was unveiled at a summit of the heads of state and government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ougadougou, on Saturday.

ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said the 15-member West African bloc had decided to “contribute financially and urgently to joint efforts in the fight against terrorism” by pledging $1 billion.

Full details of the plan, to be funded from 2020 to 2024, would be presented to the next ECOWAS summit in December.

In his remarks, the president of the ECOWAS commission pointed to the mounting human, economic and political toll of terrorist attacks perpetrated by Takfiri groups in the region.

"2,200 attacks in the last four years, 11,500 dead, thousands wounded... millions displaced and economic activity has been greatly affected," Brou said.

In a speech following the closed meeting, Brou called on the United Nations to strengthen its peacekeeping mission, which has been based in Mali since 2013.

Takfiri terrorist groups tied to Daesh and al-Qaeda have strengthened their foothold across the arid Sahel region this year, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking local ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.

The UN declared in July that the spread of terrorist attacks was so fast in West Africa that the region had to consider bolstering its response beyond current military efforts.

SS