Burkina Faso issues passport without ECOWAS logo

Burkina Faso has launched new biometric passports without the Burkina Faso logo Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on their cover, Reuters reported.

This development was a sign of further deterioration in relations between the bloc and the estranged Sahel countries.

On January 28, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – all led by military juntas – announced they were leaving ECOWAS. Their announcement followed sanctions imposed by ECOWAS on the three countries following successful military coups and the threat of military force to oust putschists in Niger.

Niger’s General Abdourahamane Tchiani confirmed their departure at a summit in July, declaring that “the people of the Sahel have irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS.”

The withdrawal of the three Sahel countries from ECOWAS could jeopardise regional cooperation in curbing the activities of jihadists, bandits and transnational criminal organisations. This would increase insecurity, especially in Northern Nigeria.

ECOWAS has since tried to persuade the three to reconsider their decision, but a rift seems inevitable given the deteriorating political situation in the region.

On the passport issue, Reuters quoted Burkina Faso’s Minister of Security Mahamadou Sana as saying: “There is no ECOWAS logo and there is no mention of ECOWAS. Since January, Burkina Faso has decided to withdraw from this body, and this is just a realization of the action that Burkina Faso has already taken.”

ECOWAS has warned that the withdrawal of the three countries would undermine the freedom of movement and common market of the 400 million people living in the 50-year-old bloc.

The withdrawal of the three countries comes as their armies battle groups linked to armed groups whose insurgencies have destabilized West Africa’s central Sahel region over the past decade and threaten to spill over into coastal states.

After their militaries seized power in a series of coups in 2020-2023, the three countries formed a defense and cooperation pact known as the Sahelian Alliance (AES). They have severed longstanding military and diplomatic ties with Western powers, instead pursuing closer relations with Russia.