Ecowas severs ties with Mali
Publish date: 17 January 2022
Issue Number: 956
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Corruption
West African nations will close their borders with Mali, sever diplomatic ties and impose tough economic sanctions in response to its ‘unacceptable’ delay in holding elections following a 2020 military coup, the 15-state regional bloc has confirmed. CNN reports that the fresh measures from Ecowas represent a significant hardening of its stance towards Mali, whose interim authorities have proposed holding elections in December 2025 instead of this February as originally agreed with the bloc. In a communique issued after an emergency summit in the Ghanaian capital Accra, Ecowas said it found the proposed timetable for a transition back to constitutional rule totally unacceptable. The organisation said it had agreed to impose additional sanctions with immediate effect.