Abuja, Nigeria — The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced plans to establish a 260,000-strong rapid deployment counter-terrorism brigade as part of renewed efforts to combat growing insecurity and insurgency across the subregion.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, disclosed this at the inaugural African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit held in Abuja. He was represented by the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Amb. Abdel-Fattah Musah.
Dr. Touray explained that the force would be tasked with supporting frontline states battling terrorism by providing both logistics and financial assistance. He revealed that Ministers of Finance and Defence from member states are expected to meet in Abuja on Friday to finalise arrangements for an estimated annual budget of $2.5 billion to sustain the initiative.
“This bold initiative has become necessary given the asymmetric security dynamics in our region. We are conscious of the fact that this requires the necessary financial resources and capabilities to make it a reality. ECOWAS is therefore throwing the gauntlet to bilateral and multilateral partners to complement this daring regional effort,” Touray stated.
The ECOWAS leader stressed that the new force would align with and complement the African Union’s standby force mechanism under the African Peace and Security Architecture.
Touray painted a grim picture of the Sahel, describing it as the new global epicentre of terrorism. He noted that the region accounted for 51 percent of terrorism-related deaths worldwide in 2024 alone. According to him, local communities, especially women and children, have suffered the most from state withdrawals and the oppressive control of extremist groups.
He also highlighted the impact of the “war economy” sustained by illegal mining and illicit taxation by insurgents, warning that it continues to deepen insecurity and instability in the region.
Touray urged the African Union and the United Nations to rally support for ECOWAS’ counter-terrorism operations, citing the UN Security Council Resolution 2719 adopted in December 2023, which pledged to fund up to 75 percent of African-led peace support missions.
If successful, the ECOWAS counter-terrorism brigade would mark one of the most ambitious regional security initiatives in Africa’s recent history, signalling a stronger collaborative response to terrorism and violent extremism in West Africa.