African Union Suspends Mali After Second Coup In Nine Months
Muhammad Irfan Published June 02, 2021 | 12:51 PM
The African Union announced it was suspending Mali with immediate effect and threatened the impoverished country with sanctions, after a second military coup in nine months
Nairobi (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Jun, 2021 ) :The African Union announced it was suspending Mali with immediate effect and threatened the impoverished country with sanctions, after a second military coup in nine months.
The putsch has sparked deep concerns over stability in the volatile Sahel region and warnings of economic penalties from across the international community.
The AU "decides... to immediately suspend the Republic of Mali from participation in all activities of the African Union, its organs and institutions, until normal constitutional order has been restored in the country", the body's Peace and Security Council said in a statement late Tuesday.
The move follows a similar suspension on Sunday from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In its statement, the AU called for the military to "urgently and unconditionally return to the barracks, and to refrain from further interference in the political processes in Mali".
It warned that if the military did not hand back power to civilian transitional leaders, "the Council will not hesitate to impose targeted sanctions and other punitive measures".
Condemning the coup "in the strongest terms possible", it added it was "deeply concerned about the evolving situation in Mali and its negative impact on the gains made thus far in the transition process in the country".
Strongman Colonel Assimi Goita was at the ECOWAS crisis summit in Ghana on Sunday to argue the military's case but has now returned to Mali.
Goita last August led army officers who overthrew elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, following mass protests over perceived corruption and a bloody jihadist insurgency.
After the takeover, the military agreed to appoint civilians as interim president and prime minister under the pressure of ECOWAS trade and financial sanctions.
- Elections pledge - But in a move that provoked diplomatic uproar, soldiers last week detained transitional president Bah Ndaw and prime minister Moctar Ouane, releasing them on Thursday while saying that they had resigned.
Mali's constitutional court completed Goita's rise to full power on Friday by naming him transitional president.
With the junta going back on its previous commitment to civilian political leaders, doubts have been raised about its other pledges, including a promise to hold elections in early 2022.
The junta said this week it would continue to respect that timetable, but added that it could be subject to change.
The United States and Mali's former colonial master France had both threatened sanctions in response to the second coup.
But ECOWAS, at a crisis summit in Ghana on Sunday, refrained from reimposing sanctions -- a move it had adopted after the first coup.
The 15-nation bloc still pushed for Mali to transition to civilian rule under a previously agreed timetable.
The bloc suspended Mali from ECOWAS until February 2022, "when they are supposed to hand over to a democratically elected government," Ghana's Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said after the meeting.
Mali is among the world's poorest countries, and the previous ECOWAS sanctions hit hard.
It is also battling a militant insurgency which first emerged in the north of the country in 2012 and has since spread to Burkina Faso and Niger, leaving swathes of the vast nation of 19 million people outside government control.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Robinson, bowlers help New Zealand go 2-1 up against Pakistan
Shahzeb Chachar to hold khuli kachehri on April 26
Heatwave amid Israel's aggression in Gaza brings new misery, disease risk
Tourism must change, mayor says as Venice launches entry fee
Court adjourns Judicial Complex attack case till May 17
Nasreen Noori’s book ‘Popatan Jahra Khwab’ launched
Wafaqi Mohtasib inspection team visits Excise and taxation office
AJLAC announces 5th Conference titled ‘People’s Mandate: Safeguarding Civil ..
Pak-US officials engage to enhance trade, investment ties
IBCC to promote educational excellence, expand regional presence
Pakistani 'Blue Helmets' serving UN Peacekeeping Mission in DR Congo set to leav ..
Putin says plans to visit China in May
More Stories From World
-
Slot 'confident' of Liverpool job as 'negotiations' take place
1 hour ago -
Google parent Alphabet's Q1 profits beat estimates: company
1 hour ago -
WADA asks 'independent prosecutor' to examine Chinese swimmers case
1 hour ago -
New York court overturns Harvey Weinstein sex crime conviction
2 hours ago -
Bagnaia and Spanish rivals chase victory at Jerez
3 hours ago -
Russian, Ukrainian strikes kill at least 10 in frontline regions
3 hours ago
-
Heatwave amid Israel's aggression in Gaza brings new misery, disease risk
4 hours ago -
Tourism must change, mayor says as Venice launches entry fee
4 hours ago -
Pakistani 'Blue Helmets' serving UN Peacekeeping Mission in DR Congo set to leave after 20 years of ..
4 hours ago -
Putin says plans to visit China in May
4 hours ago -
US reinstates open internet rules rescinded under Trump
4 hours ago -
Honda announces US$11 bn EV battery and vehicle plant in Canada
5 hours ago