Ecowas Severes Links with Mali Over Election Delay, May Deploy Military

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Sunday announced further sanctions against Mali’s military-dominated interim authority.

The latest sanctions include financial squeeze, border blockage and withdrawal of ECOWAS Ambassadors from Mali to force return to constitutional rule.

The West African countries regional leaders standing from an extraordinary summit in Accra, Ghana decided that apart from the sanctions, they are ready for any eventuality to force a return to a democratic rule as an ECOWAS Military Stand-by Force is being readied.

The Accra meeting was called after the decision of the Col Assimi Goita-led interim government to abandon an original transition timetable, which had included elections next month after the military coup that toppled the government of elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020.

Goita had led a coup in May 2021, which elicited sanctions and the suspension of Mali from ECOWAS.

The Communique of the summit chaired by Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and Chair of ECOWAS Authority also reiterated the regional bloc’s opposition to the presence of private military contractors, a reference to Russia’s support to Mali.

Malian authorities have already accused France of abandonment for reducing its forces in the Sahel and Mali.

The French move is believed to have forced the Bamako regime to approach Russia for support to deal with terrorists and Jihadist insurrections, especially in the northern and central regions.

This position has been strongly opposed by Paris and its Western allies.
There are indications that the new sanctions could hit hard on land-locked Mali, especially ordinary citizens who might find it difficult to withdraw money from the banks with the ECOWAS freeze of Malian assets and finances at the West African Central Bank based in Senegal.

The latest sanctions are expected to make life uncomfortable for the interim government with further destabilisation of Mali likely.

Political observers have warned that with Mali and Guinea under interim military-cum-civilian administrations after military coups, there is possibility of further resurgence of military rule and recession of democracy in the ECOWAS region.

The region and across the Sahel are presently enmeshed in perennial insecurity with northern Mali as the epicentre of terrorists and jihadists’ deadly attacks which spills into neighbouring Niger, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire.

Michael Olugbode

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