NIGER, Mali and Burkina Faso, three West African states led by the military, said that they are immediately leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional economic bloc that has been urging them to return to democratic rule. The decision by the three, announced in a simultaneous joint statement on their national television channels, is a blow to the bloc's regional integration efforts after it suspended the three following coups. The move could further weaken ECOWAS which has struggled to contain a democratic retreat in the West Africa region. In response to the withdrawal, ECOWAS said it…