Chiefs Of Defence In West Africa Suggest A $2.6 Billion Security Scheme.

To combat the region’s escalating security issues, West African defense chiefs on Thursday, June 27, proposed deploying a 5,000-strong “standby force.” However, experts predict that this move may prove unfeasible due to financial constraints and internal divisions within the regional alliance.

At a gathering of defence officials in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, heads of state were presented with the $2.6 billion plan. According to Nigeria’s Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru, the plan was also intended to stop more coups in the wake of a series of military takeovers destabilizing the area.

The 15-nation ECOWAS has been split apart by the resurgence of coups in West and Central Africa, where military governments rule four countries. The region is now unstable, particularly the coup-affected nations of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, which are most severely affected by the deadly violence that is now encroaching on coastal areas.

ECOWAS has made vain attempts to restore democracy in these nations. The three coup-affected nations withdrew their membership and provided more opportunities for Russian mercenaries operating in the area as a result of their best attempt to use the now-lifted economic sanctions. According to Touray, the president of the ECOWAS commission, the bloc invited representatives of the three coup-affected nations Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to attend the meeting on Thursday and participate in the formation of this force. It wasn’t immediately apparent whether the nations.