The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Saturday shelved for a month its decision on post-coup sanctions against the military authorities in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
At an Extraordinary Meeting of the 15-member bloc in Accra, the West African leaders who could not agree on actions against the Junta in the three countries, said they hoped to take a firmer stance on the sanctions at its next summit on July 3, 2022.
The Accra meeting was called to discuss challenges confronting the three nations in the light of developments within the regional and global context, after the raft of sanctions placed on them following the overthrow of their constitutionally elected governments.
The military Junta in the three countries, who have been suspended from the regional bloc, with Mali under the severest sanctions, including financial squeeze, travel bans and border blockade, have suggested terms of between 24 and 36 months to relinquish power to civilian authorities.
But experts say the sanctions, coupled with jihadist insurgency and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is contributing to worsening living conditions for the people in those three nations.
