The Sahel region is a geographical belt in Africa that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, between the Sahara Desert in the north and the Savannah in the south. It is characterised by challenging environmental crises and conflicts.

The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) withdraws from ECOWAS and continues initiatives for independence, regional integration, and defensive cooperation.

The Sahel states of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, are officially leaving the regional economic bloc ECOWAS on Wednesday, after 50 years.The withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States,

"The rise of junta rule in the Sahel represents a complex interplay between decolonization and destabilization."

The official departure from the West African body on Tuesday comes after Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali last year formed their own alliance, the Confederation of Sahel States.

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have officially left West Africa’s main political and trade group ECOWAS after more than a year of diplomatic tension.

A source who asked for anonymity said Emptech is not involved in the production of the new passport for the three Sahel states.

A joint force of 5,000 troops from military-led neighbours Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali will soon deploy in their troubled central Sahel region, Niger's defence chief said on state television.

Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have officially left ECOWAS, marking a significant shift in West African politics. The withdrawal, finalized after a yearlong process, stems from dissatisfaction with the bloc's alignment with leaders over the citizenry.

Thousands of people rallied in junta-led Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali on Tuesday to back their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc, due to take

Officials and citizens gathered for a ceremony in the southwest town of Kangaba to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso's decision to quit regional bloc ECOWAS. The three junta-led nations formed their own regional trade group,

Niger has become the first African country to eliminate river blindness, a parasitic disease that is the second-leading cause of blindness in the world, the WHO said Thursday.