West African Regional Army: Why Thousands of Soldiers Are Deploying | News of armed groups

West African nations have agreed to activate a regional standby force to counter waves of violence by cross-border armed groups in the region.

The decision was taken last week during a days-long security meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) military chiefs in Sierra Leone, Anadolu news agency reported. The faction held the meeting at a time when the region is facing what experts say is an “existential security threat” that has killed thousands and displaced millions.

The plan includes deploying an initial 2,000 troops by the end of 2026 to tackle armed groups that are expanding their territory and sharpen tactics in the region.

Armed groups ideologically linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) routinely attack military outposts and civilian settlements from Mali to Nigeria. Countries are responding but in a fragmented way.

In particular, armed groups have targeted the Sahelian countries of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. Increasingly, they are pressing into the coastal states of Togo and Benin.

Although the militants often operate in rural areas with a weak government presence, recent attacks have been launched in major urban areas and some groups are using more sophisticated weapons.

In an audacious attack, an ISIL-allied group targeted the international airport in Niger’s capital, Niamey, in late January. In an ongoing operation, the al-Qaeda-linked faction has blocked fuel supplies from reaching the Malian capital Bamako since September, crippling mobility and essential services in the country.

Analysts said that if ECOWAS plans to deploy troops, it will have to overcome two major challenges: military-led Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso broke away from the bloc in January 2025 to form their own Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

“Those challenges will continue, … but they should consider this not just a military response but a comprehensive operation that includes social interventions to curb the influence of these groups that allow them to recruit members,” said Dakar-based Beverley Ochieng of the intelligence agency Control Risk.

What we know about the project so far and the challenges it may face:

What is the ECOWAS Standby Force?

The ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF) was officially created in 1999, although it began deployment in the early 1990s. The force consists of thousands of military, police and civilian personnel contributed by ECOWAS member states.

The ESF has been critical in ending several conflicts in the region and stabilizing states in transition. It is considered the first successful attempt to establish a regional security alliance in Africa. Southern and East African states subsequently created their own forces in 2007 and 2022 respectively.

Formerly known as the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), the West African contingent played a key role in ending the protracted civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone from 1990 to 2003. Nigeria and Ghana sent large numbers of troops.

Unlike typical United Nations operations that focus on peacekeeping, ECOMOG engages in combat. However, its forces have been heavily criticized for rights abuses as they struggle to isolate the rebels from the larger population.

The ESF intervened as a peacekeeping operation during the Ivorian civil war (2002-2003) and the Mali crisis (2012-2013). The troops helped oust longtime Gambian President Yahya Jammeh and hand power to Adama Barrow, who lost the election. Most recently, the ESF supported the Benin military to prevent the rebels from seizing power in December.

What does the force do now and what are the concerns?

As regional leaders plan a fresh mobilization of thousands of troops, the planned activation specifically responds to threats posed by ideological armed groups, Anadolu News reported.

This is the first time that the ESF has faced such armed groups against political rebels.

Such violence has led to thousands of deaths and displacement of tens of thousands of people in the region. From January to June 2025, the region recorded 12,964 conflict-related deaths in 5,907 incidents, with almost all deaths in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, according to the Center for Democracy and Development.

Ochieng said the ECOWAS deployment was a belated response and there were several concerns. Funding, coordination of forces and the rift that have fundamentally fractured the bloc are the main issues.

Nigeria generally provides 75 percent of the staff for ECOWAS operations and is a major funder of ECOWAS with its headquarters in Abuja.

However, Ochieng noted that the Nigeria of the 1990s was very different from the Nigeria of today. The West African giant’s status has led to higher inflation in 2023 on the back of economic mismanagement, adding to pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic. The economy is slowly recovering.

Furthermore, Nigeria’s defense forces have been stretched on many fronts while confronting a number of armed actors. Ideological groups operate in the North-East and collaborate more with criminal dacoity gangs in the North-West and North-Central regions. In the south of the country, armed groups fighting for an independent state are also active.

One possible source of funding could be the United States, which has been working with Nigeria since December to fight armed groups after initially being falsely accused of enabling “genocide” against Christians amid insecurity. Another would be France, which is much closer to Abuja.

There is also the problem of coordinating the fight against at least eight armed groups that use heavily forested areas as hideouts and corridors to travel between countries. ECOWAS should “prioritize where the operations are and focus on others, such as pirates or criminal gangs that take advantage of security gaps,” Ochieng said.

Social interventions are critical in rural areas where armed groups recruit, he said. Groups often secure local buy-in by collecting taxes and providing resources such as fertilizer, building mosques, or promising security.

Could ECOWAS vs AES rift weaken the force?

There are also concerns about how ECOWAS will cooperate with the AES.

ECOWAS broke up last year after post-coup AES states used regional bloc sanctions to pressure them to hold elections and return their countries to civilian rule.

All three AES countries are at the heart of armed group crises, with several armed groups operating within their shared borders.

The Malian army seized power in 2020, blaming the civilian government for failing to confront these militants. Then, in 2022, Burkina Faso’s military followed suit, citing the same reasons, and Niger did the same in 2023. They left ECOWAS and officially joined together in 2025.

The AES has moved away en masse from France, its historic ally and former colonial power, which has contributed around 4,000 troops to combat armed groups, as Paris faces accusations of over-interference in national security matters.

About 2,000 Russian fighters, initially from the paramilitary Wagner Group and now from Russia’s state-controlled Africa Corps, have been deployed in the three countries as AES has turned to Moscow as an ally.

AES exit is a blow to ECOWAS, reducing the bloc’s size and influence. ECOWAS has tried to persuade AES states to return through intermediary states such as Senegal, which have cordial relations with the Sahelians. The faction has also maintained an open door policy by inviting them to meetings.

But Ochieng said military leaders have proven to be hardliners and have shunned those methods. He said the AES was working to build its 6,000-man combined force and wanted to prove it could compete with ECOWAS by successfully countering armed groups.

Thus, close collaboration with both sides deploying and funding a single regional force may not occur. However, ECOWAS’ new focus on countering armed groups may soften AES’s stance over time.

“Because when AES left, one of his criticisms was that ECOWAS does not support terrorism and is too focused on politics and elections,” Ochieng pointed out.

He said if ECOWAS continues to build on the cordial relations maintained by Senegal and Ghana and Togo, there is room for intelligence sharing, joint surveillance and joint operations in the long term.

What are the main armed groups?

Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin: JNIM is an al-Qaeda-allied faction in West Africa. It was formed in 2017 after four Malian armed groups joined together (Ansar al-Din; al-Murabitun; Masina Liberation Front, or MLF; and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM). JNIM operates in Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger and has recorded at least one attack in Nigeria. Currently, JNIM is preventing fuel from reaching Bamako by attacking and burning fuel tankers traveling on highways. It is estimated to have 5,000 to 6,000 members.

Boko Haram: This group is also known as Jamaat Ahl al-Sunna li al-Dawa wa al-Jihad. Boko Haram, which originated in Nigeria’s Borno state in 2010, initially launched widespread attacks across northern Nigeria, including the capital, Abuja. Later it spread to Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The group is notorious for kidnapping more than 300 schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014. Boko Haram has been severely weakened since the death of its leader Abubakar Shekau in 2021 but still operates with an estimated 1,500 fighters.

Islamic State West Africa Province: ISWAP split from Boko Haram due to differences over how Muslim civilians should be treated. Boko Haram kills Muslims and Christians indiscriminately. Both are heavily involved in violent wars. ISWAP operates mainly in northeastern Nigeria and has, according to some estimates, 3,500 to 5,000 fighters.

Islamic State Sahel Province: The ISSP or IS-Sahel group was formed in 2015 and pledges allegiance to ISIL. It operates mainly in Niger and Mali. The ISSP claimed responsibility for the attack on Niamey International Airport in January. Analysts hypothesize that ISWAP’s components are involved, revealing the extent to which groups cooperate across porous boundaries. Figures for 2018 put its fighters at over 400.

Lakurawa: Although its alliances are unclear, Lakurawa is made up of fighters from Mali. Some analysts believe that members of the group have arrived in rural counties in northern Nigeria’s Kebbi state after locals invited them to fight against criminal gangs that have been kidnapping people for ransom. Other scholars disputed this and said that Lakurawa members were originally herdsmen from Mali who became fighters after arriving in the northwestern state of Sokoto. The group was the focus of US airstrikes on Christmas Day last year. It is believed to have around 1,000 fighters.

Ansar: Another Boko Haram splinter group now linked to al-Qaeda, Ansaru, operates in northern Nigeria and has collaborated with criminal gangs to kidnap people for ransom. It kidnapped foreigners from the United Kingdom, Lebanon, Italy, France and Greece from 2011 to 2013, most of them executed. There is speculation that Ansaru and JNIM are working together and that al-Qaeda is trying to combine its Sahelian and Nigerian branches to create a West African arc. It has about 2,000 to 3,000 members.