Senegal President says making 'progress' in talks with breakaway Sahel States

Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has said he is "making progress" in a mediation mission with junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, after the trio announced their departure from regional bloc ECOWAS. The three Sahel countries announced in January they were leaving the Economic Community of West African States, which they accused of being subservient to former colonial ruler France and failing to support them in their fight against jihadist violence. ECOWAS appointed Senegal's Faye as a "facilitator" in July to try to get them to remain in the bloc. "I am making progress with this mission," Faye said on Sunday at the Doha Forum for political dialogue in Qatar.