Three countries under military rule have officially left West African regional bloc Ecowas, after more than a year of diplomatic tensions. The withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is a huge blow to Ecowas,

The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) on Wednesday announced the formal exit of junta-led Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from the bloc following their withdrawal last year.

The three junta-led West African nations withdrawal is the culmination of a yearlong process during which the grouping tried to avert its unprecedented disintegration.

ABUJA, Nigeria -- 3 coup-hit West African nations formally leave ECOWAS in an unprecedented disintegration of the regional bloc.

France’s military withdrawals provide West African states with a long overdue opportunity to assert their sovereignty. But there’s a risk of authoritarianism and regime fragmentation.