ECOWAS moves to deploy 1,650-member standby force against terrorism

ECOWAS moves to deploy 1,650-member standby force against terrorism

Omar Touray, president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, says the bloc is accelerating deployment of its standby force to tackle terrorism in the region.

Addressing the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Monday, Touray said terrorism has spread beyond the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin to threaten all of West Africa.

“The threat is now regional in scope, and our response must match that scale,” he said.