Vendors sits inside their shops at the Mali Market in Dakar on January 22, 2025. The withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from the Economic Community of West African States takes effect on Wednesday after a year of political tensions, fracturing the region and leaving the bloc with an uncertain future. On January 29, 2024, the three countries led by military regimes formally notified ECOWAS of their desire for "immediate" withdrawal. But the texts of the West African organisation required one-year's notice for it to be effective. (Photo by PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK MEINHARDT/AFP via Getty Images)