An aerial view shows a truck driving along the National Road 16 (RN16), going from Sévaré to Gao on 5 November 2021. It is one of the most dangerous roads in Mali, where soldiers, foreign soldiers operating in Mali and civilians are attacked by jihadists groups linked to Al-Qaïda operating in the area. Photo: AMAURY HAUCHARD / AFP
Mali junta ‘regrets’ West African sanctions
In a final declaration following Sunday’s summit, ECOWAS said it “highly deplores the lack of progress” towards staging elections in Mali
An aerial view shows a truck driving along the National Road 16 (RN16), going from Sévaré to Gao on 5 November 2021. It is one of the most dangerous roads in Mali, where soldiers, foreign soldiers operating in Mali and civilians are attacked by jihadists groups linked to Al-Qaïda operating in the area. Photo: AMAURY HAUCHARD / AFP
Mali said on Monday it regretted sanctions imposed by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS on some members of the ruling junta which staged two military coups in less than a year.
Mali was rocked by coups in August 2020 and May 2021 and swathes of the vast desert nation country are not under government control due to a jihadist insurgency that emerged in the north in 2012.
MALI ASPIRATIONS
The Economic Community of West African States sanctions “do not sufficiently take into account the deep aspirations of the Malian people and the efforts made on a daily basis by the transition authorities,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The government regrets the decisions taken” at a weekend ECOWAS summit in the Ghanaian capital Accra, it said.
RETURN TO DEMOCRACY
ECOWAS on Sunday called on the junta to honour a timetable for a return to democracy and “decided to sanction all those implicated in the delay” in organising elections set for 27 February.
Mali has “officially written” to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, who holds the rotating presidency of the 15-nation ECOWAS, to inform him that the Sahel country could not hold elections as planned.
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ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS ‘IF SITUATION PERSISTS’
The sanctions against members of the transition government will take immediate effect and travel bans and asset freezes target family members as well.
In a final declaration following Sunday’s summit, ECOWAS said it “highly deplores the lack of progress” towards staging elections in Mali.
It threatened to impose additional sanctions at a new meeting on 12 December “if the situation persists”.
© Agence France-Presse
