President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Saturday, joined fourteen (14) other Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to deliberate on the growing threats of terrorism in the region.
The leaders of the West African Bloc at the one-day extraordinary meeting are expected to review different initiatives taken so far and redefine priority intervention areas to curtail the increased terrorist attacks in the region.
At the opening ceremony of the conference, the Burkinabé President, Roch Marc Christian Kabore described the meeting as significant in the fight against terrorism in the region, afford the leaders the opportunity to take strong action in the geographical area.
President Kabore stressed the need for both sustainable economies and military operations to fight terrorism in the Sahel area.
Increased extremism and violent attacks in some West African regions, which is ramping up in Burkina Faso threatens the entire region, and that the G5 Sahel force — comprising troops from Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mauritania and Mali — needs funding support.
Established in 2017, the G5 Sahel force — has been plagued with funding problems.
ECOWAS Commission President, Jean Claude Brou, also described the summit as a turning point in the fight against terrorism in the geographical area.
Security experts say, the unprecedented terrorist attacks in West Africa and the Sahel regions are mostly fueled by the Boko Haram and al Qaeda terrorist groups.
Recommendations from the one-day submit will be presented at the next United Nations General Assembly later this month in New York.
