After the coups, West Africa's Brexit moment
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have severed ties from a key West African bloc. Four things you need to know about what the break means for a region destabilized by coups and rising jihadist violence.
LAGOS, Nigeria - Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, three countries ruled by military juntas, overwhelmed by jihadist insurgencies and a series of coups in recent years, have severed ties with regional West African countries this week, and quit the regional bloc called ECOWAS.
It was announced on Sunday before it was communicated through official diplomatic channels, catching neighbouring leaders unaware, escalating a regional crisis. For several months, the three countries remained defiant, faced by a siege of sanctions and diplomatic pressure from ECOWAS, backed by France and the US, to transition back to democracy.
But the tensions have now
