West African leaders on Sunday gave three countries led by military governments six months to reconsider their decision to quit the regional group ECOWAS.
They also approved the creation of a special court to judge crimes committed during the rule of former President Yahya Jammeh in The Gambia.
The decision on the military governments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger came after all three countries said their decision to quit the Economic Community of West African States was "irreversible."
They condemned the bloc as subservient to ex-colonial ruler France.
Grace period ends on January 29
The imminent departure of the three Sahel states could have a major impact on free trade and movement as well as on security cooperation in a region where insurgents are gaining ground.
Under the bloc's regulations, their quitting the group would have become effective next month, a year after their initial January 2024 announcements.
But following a meeting of West African leaders in Abuja, the group said in a statement: "The authority decides to set the period from January 29, 2025, to July 29, 2025, as a transitional period and to keep ECOWAS doors open to the three countries."
Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, appointed as a mediator with the breakaway states by the 15-member ECOWAS in July, was among those at the summit.
'Making progress'
He had said last week he was "making progress" in talks and that was no reason for them not to maintain relations, especially given the security situation.
ECOWAS on Sunday authorised Faye – and Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe, who has also been mediating with the three states – to continue negotiations.
The three breakaway states have already formed their own confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), after severing ties with France, and pivoting towards Russia.
They held their own ministerial-level meeting Friday in Niger's capital, Niamey.
'Irreversible decision'
"The ministers reiterate the irreversible decision to withdraw from ECOWAS and are committed to pursuing a process of reflection on the means of exiting in the best interests of their peoples," they said in a joint statement.
All three states have gone through military coups in recent years and all are battling insurgencies. ECOWAS member state Guinea is also run by a military government after a 2021 coup.
Tensions with ECOWAS spiked after the bloc threatened military intervention and imposed heavy sanctions following the July 2023 coup in Niger – the region's sixth in three years.
ECOWAS has since softened its position, though member states are split over the best course of action to deal with the military governments.
Special Tribunal for The Gambia
The bloc also announced Sunday that it backed the creation of a special court to judge crimes committed during the rule of The Gambia's former President Yahya Jammeh.
The Special Tribunal for The Gambia "will ensure justice and accountability for gross human rights violations committed between July 1994 and January 2017", a statement from ECOWAS said.
This is the first time the bloc has partnered with a member state to set up such a court, the statement added.
Jammeh's 22 years in power were marked by significant rights abuses and the earmarking of state funds for the eccentric former leader's personal use, the new government and rights groups say.
He fled in 2017 after losing an election to current President Adama Barrow.
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