THE military leaders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso slammed Western colonial powers on Saturday as they ruled out returning to west Africa’s regional economic bloc.

The leaders made the joint announcement during their first summit in Niger’s capital Niamey, after their withdrawal from the west African bloc Ecowas in January.

It comes despite Ecowas lifting harsh coup-related economic and trade sanctions that the three nations have blamed for their original decision to quit the bloc last year.