The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced plans to deploy an initial 1,650 personnel as part of its standby force to counter the fast-spreading terrorist threat across the subregion.
The move forms part of an accelerated effort to reinforce regional security as extremist violence expands beyond traditional hotspots.
President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Alieu Omar Touray, revealed the plan while addressing the United Nations Security Council during a high-level discussion in New York on strengthening cooperation against terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel.
Dr. Touray disclosed that the region’s early-warning systems have recorded 450 terrorist attacks and nearly 2,000 deaths in 2025 alone, highlighting the severity of the crisis.
He cautioned that terrorist activity, once concentrated in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, has now permeated the wider West African subregion, posing a direct threat to regional stability.
According to him, violent extremist groups are increasingly engaging in what he termed “economic warfare”, deliberately targeting critical infrastructure by restricting fuel supplies, disrupting trade corridors, and destabilising local economies to weaken states and entrench their influence.
“To confront the escalating violence, ECOWAS is fast-tracking the deployment of its standby force, starting with 1,650 troops, with plans to scale up to 5,000 personnel through additional contributions from member states and support from international partners.”
However, Dr. Touray warned that significant obstacles remain. Fragmented national responses, mistrust among neighbouring states, weak intelligence-sharing frameworks and limited operational coordination continue to hamper the effectiveness of regional counterterrorism efforts.
He appealed to the UN Security Council to back initiatives aimed at restoring trust among member states, securing predictable and sustainable funding, and strengthening collaborative mechanisms in the fight against terrorism.
Dr. Touray stressed that ECOWAS’ ability to confront the growing insurgency would depend on unified political will and deeper international partnerships to prevent further deterioration of security across West Africa.