Soldiers who seized power in three West African countries announced Sunday they were pulling their countries out of their regional economic bloc.

Military juntas in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso said they would withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) because of sanctions imposed by the group in response to the coups it carried out.

In recent years a Series of coups have erupted in the Sahel, the arid strip south of the Sahara, forming an unbroken strip of military-controlled lands stretching from coast to coast across the continent.

While attempts by the regional bloc to reverse some of these coups have failed, the sanctions it imposed – closing borders and isolating the three landlocked countries from key trading partners – have endured and are causing great hardness for millions of people.

On Sunday, the three juntas said these sanctions were “inhumane.”

ECOWAS closed land and air borders, imposed a no-fly zone on commercial flights, suspended financial transactions and froze countries’ assets at ECOWAS central banks.

In a statement, the juntas accused the bloc of “betrayal of its founding principles” and said it had “become a threat to its member states and their populations.”

They said ECOWAS was “acting under the influence of foreign powers,” but did not specify which powers they were. The bloc is perceived by many West Africans, especially those who spend time on social media, as a tool of France, Britain and the United States.

The bloc was founded in 1975, shortly after many West African countries gained independence from imperial rulers, with the aim of achieving economic integration between countries whose borders were drawn by colonial powers. Later, ECOWAS adopted democracy, security and stability as additional priorities.

Exiting ECOWAS could have serious consequences for citizens of the three countries, who were previously able to travel between the bloc’s 15 member states without a visa – full more than 300 million people and over 1,000 languages.

West African commentators said the countries’ departure could have repercussions Trade relations and regional stability And also cause pain in the other direction, namely in the remaining 12 member states of the Union. The decision should prompt ECOWAS and the African Union to “reflect on its utility, purpose and impact.” said Ayisha Osori, a Nigerian lawyer and political activist, in a social media post.

The current put threshold started with Mali, where military officers arrested the president in 2020 and forced him to resign on state television. Since then, every time a West African government has been toppled, the bloc has tried to reverse it by sending diplomats to persuade the coup plotters to return power or hold new elections. But the efforts often seemed fruitless.

In July after that Mutinous generals seized power in Niger and held the elected president hostage, ECOWAS threatened to use its armed forces to reverse the coup. But the junta members said if it were so, they would kill the president. ECOWAS, led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, gave in.

Four months later, the ECOWAS Court of Justice ordered Niger wants to reinstate its imprisoned President Mohamed Bazoum.

But nothing happened. Mr. Bazoum is still being held hostage.