ECOWAS maintains sanctions on Mali, demands immediate release of Prez Kabore

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decided Friday that it would uphold sanctions imposed in January on Mali over the military rulers of the country delaying a return to civilian rule after a coup.

ECOWAS at the end of the Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government on the Situation in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso also issued warnings to the juntas that recently seized power in the three countries.

West Africa’s regional bloc demanded the finalisation of an acceptable transition timetable no later than April 25, 2022, failing which it would slap punitive measures on the government and the National Transition Council (CNT).

In a Communique, ECOWAS also stated that if Burkina Faso’s military junta did not free former president Roch Marc Christian Kabore from house arrest by Thursday next week, it would impose “individual sanctions” on the country.

The 15-nation bloc also wants Mali’s military, which seized power in 2020, to stage elections within 12-16 months.

The communique was issued after a day of talks in the Ghanaian capital Accra, three months after the bloc slapped sanctions on Mali.