Newly elected Senegalese president Bassirou Faye started a regional visit with Mali and Burkina Faso in a bid to strengthen ties with neighbors that quit the regional bloc ECOWAS in protest over sanctions following their consecutive coups. In Bamako, Faye held talks on the ECOWAS with Mali’s leader Col. Assimi Goita. Faye has promised that he would intercede with both Mali and Burkina Faso to negotiate their return to the regional grouping. Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, some of the most hit nations by the surge of terrorist activity have formed a military alliance. The Sahel now accounts for 43 percent of the world’s terrorism deaths—more than South Asia and the MENA region combined.
