(3 minutes read)
- The West African states’ envoy, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonatha arrived in the Malian capital ahead of a meeting of West African heads of state in Accra to deliver a message of region’s leaders to Mali’s strongman, Colonel Assimi Goita
- The Summit will kick off next Sunday. The content of the message is not yet known
- The heads of state of the west African countries will examine the timetable submitted to them by the Malian authorities to return power to civilians
The West African states’ envoy, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan arrived in the Malian capital ahead of a meeting of West African heads of state in Accra to deliver a message of region’s leaders to Mali’s strongman, Colonel Assimi Goita. The Summit will kick off next Sunday. The content of the message is not yet known.
The heads of state of the west African countries will examine the timetable submitted to them by the Malian authorities to return power to civilians. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said that such a delay was unacceptable. ECOWAS leaders will brainstorm at the summit on Sunday how to respond to a timetable that could stretch to the end of 2026.
At a previous summit held on 12 December, West African leaders had called for elections to be held on the originally scheduled date of 27 February this year. They had insisted on the continuation of the sanctions imposed on about 150 personalities (freezing of financial assets, travel ban within ECOWAS) and their families. They also gave a threat of additional “economic and financial” sanctions
Mali, a poor landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel, has experienced two military coups in August 2020 and May 2021. The political crisis coupled with a serious security crisis has been ongoing since 2012.
