West Africa

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This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

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West Africa is a major subregion of Africa, defined by the United Nations as containing 15 countries:[1]

1. Benin
2. Burkina Faso
3. Cape Verde
4. Cote d'Ivoire
5. Gambia
6. Ghana
7. Guinea
8. Guinea Bissau
9. Liberia
10. Mali
11. Niger
12. Nigeria
13. Senegal
14. Sierra Leone
15. Togo

Most were either French or British colonies, so the common languages of the region are French and English, with some Portuguese and Arabic. There are, of course, large numbers of indigenous languages.

These states also comprise the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), an active regional organization. [2] The ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) is a non-standing peace operations force that has operated in civil war in Sierra Leone and is a model for future needs. [3]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ United Nations Office for West Africa, United Nations
2. ↑ ECOWAS Member States, Economic Community of West African States
3. ↑ Mitikishe Maxwell Khobe (February 2000), The Evolution and Conduct of ECOMOG Operations in West Africa, Institute for Security Studies (South Africa), Monograph No 44: Boundaries of Peace Support Operations