Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have lifted economic and financial sanctions imposed on Mali, after its military rulers proposed a 24-month transition to democracy and published a new electoral law.<\/p>\n
The bloc imposed stiff sanctions on Mali in January after the military government said it would not organise democratic elections the following month as initially planned.<\/p>\n
ECOWAS Commission President Jean Claude Kassi Brou told a news conference on Sunday that the sanctions will be lifted immediately. Borders with Mali will reopen and regional diplomats will return to Bamako.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the heads of state decided to maintain individual sanctions, and the suspension of Mali from ECOWAS, until the return to constitutional rule,\u201d Kassi Brou said.<\/p>\n
The individual sanctions targeted members of the ruling military government and the transitional council.<\/p>\n
Sanctions have crippled Mali\u2019s economy, raising humanitarian concerns amid widespread suffering. The country has defaulted on more than $300m of its debt due to the sanctions, which cut it off from the regional financial market and the regional central bank.<\/p>\n
The ECOWAS mediator in Mali, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, visited the country last week. A member of his entourage told AFP news agency that Mali had made \u201cenormous progress\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mali\u2019s top diplomat Abdoulaye Diop on Friday said the recent political developments were moving the country towards a lifting of the sanctions.<\/p>\n
Burkina Faso and Guinea transitions
\nECOWAS leaders had gathered to assess efforts to secure timetables and other guarantees for restoring civilian rule in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.<\/p>\n
Mali underwent coups in August 2020 and May 2021, followed by Guinea in September 2021 and Burkina Faso this January.<\/p>\n
The West African leaders meeting in Accra also accepted a pledge from the military that seized power in Burkina Faso to restore constitutional order in 24 months.<\/p>\n
Kassi Brou said that after a lengthy discussion with the coup leaders in Burkina Faso, a new proposal for a 24-month transition was more acceptable, after the heads of state rejected a proposed 36-month transition.<\/p>\n
Economic and financial sanctions on Burkina Faso were also lifted, he said.<\/p>\n
The situation appears more complex in Guinea, whose military government has refused an ECOWAS mediator and announced a 36-month transition \u2013 a period that African Union Chairman and Senegalese President Macky Sall has described as \u201cunthinkable\u201d.<\/p>\n
ECOWAS leaders rejected the three-year transition. They told Guinea\u2019s military to propose a new timeline by the end of July or face economic sanctions.<\/p>\n
The heads of state appointed Benin\u2019s former President Boni Yayi as a new mediator and urged the Guinean military government to work with him and quickly propose a new timetable.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond that, economic sanctions will be imposed,\u201d Kassi Brou said.<\/p>\n
The political upheaval came as many observers started to think that military power grabs were a thing of the past in West Africa, an increasingly restive region that also faces growing danger from armed groups.<\/p>\n
Some leaders who spoke at Accra\u2019s one-day summit urged action as armed groups expand their footprint in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese terrorist attacks are now not only focusing on the Sahel, but also expanding to the coastal states in our region,\u201d said Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo. \u201cIt is imperative for us to continue to implement our regional action plan against terrorism and to coordinate our various security initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the first half of 2022, the region recorded a total of 3,500 deaths from 1,600 attacks targeting countries including Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria, according to Kassi Brou.<\/p>\n
In Burkina Faso, where attacks blamed on armed groups are soaring, gunmen killed at least 55 people in the country\u2019s northern Seno province last month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gathered to assess efforts to secure timetables for restoring civilian rule in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":11372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,15],"tags":[7,26,25],"class_list":{"0":"post-11375","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-politics","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-politics"},"yoast_head":"\n