Dubbed "Sahelexit," the decision by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to leave the West African regional community known as ECOWAS is now official. The three members of the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—sanctioned over coups that overturned their elected governments—are out. It leaves the 12 other countries in ECOWAS, one of Africa's most economically integrated blocs, rethinking the organization's relevance. Like ECOWAS, the new group will allow free movement between their respective territories—now derisively referred to as the "coup belt." But it is in the field of security cooperation that the AES states will be especially missed. Jihadist insurgents are on the march. So-called "Islamic State" forces have set up in northwest Nigeria, where they are known as Lakurawa. With neighboring Niger now pulling out of a regional Multilateral Joint Task Force, there are fears that countering the threat will be all the harder.

From The New Humanitairan, Jan. 31

Note: Their name deriving from the French "La Recru" (the recruits), Lakurawa are known to operate in the Nigerian states of Sokoto, Kebbi and Kaduna. Initially emerging as a vigilante force to defend against bandits, they appear to have estabished a mini-state in the area, where their harsh interpretation of sharia is enforced, and residents can be flogged for such offenses as listening to music. (Militant Wire, BBC News)