Military-led states to launch joint passport

Three West African countries run by military juntas will be launching a new biometric passport as part of their withdrawal from the wider regional bloc Ecowas. BBC News reports that Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, whose military leaders took over power in a series of coups between 2020 and 2023, announced their plan to leave the bloc in January. Following the coups, West African countries sanctioned the juntas, aiming to push them to quickly restore civilian rule. However, the nations that now form the Alliance of Sahel States have so far resisted the calls and are seeking to cement their alliance. Malian junta leader Colonel Assimi Goïta said they are also planning to launch a joint service that would promote a ‘harmonious dissemination of information in our three states’. It remains unclear how the new passports will affect the travel of their nationals to other Ecowas states where they enjoyed visa-free movement as holders of a 15-nation regional passport.

Full BBC News report