In January, Burkina Faso’s military government joined Mali and Niger in withdrawing from ECOWAS over harsh sanctions
Burkina Faso has issued new biometric passports that do not feature the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) logo on their covers amid a dispute with the 50-year-old regional political and economic union.
At the launch on Tuesday, Burkinabe Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said the removal of the ECOWAS symbol and “no mention of ECOWAS either” on the passports was a result of Ouagadougou’s decision to quit the bloc.
According to Perfect Loure, director-general of the landlocked state’s National Identification Office, the travel documents were designed by Chinese company EmpTech.
In January, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, which had formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) with a commitment to defend each other from security threats, jointly announced that they were leaving the 15-nation regional grouping. The…