- The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) , a region plagued by political turbulence and poverty, has been experiencing a series of coups.
- The latest among them is the military coup in Burkina Faso on January 24.
- Military takeover in Burkina was preceded by Mali, where a coup in September 2020 was followed by another one in May 2021.
The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) , a region plagued by political turbulence and poverty, has been experiencing a series of coups. The latest among them is the military coup in Burkina Faso on January 24. Military takeover in Burkina was preceded by Mali, where a coup in September 2020 was followed by another one in May 2021. In Guinea, the elected president Alpha Conde was ousted last September. This week on February 1st there was a failed coup attempt and a gun attack on the president of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo.
The spate of coups has triggered an Emergency summit by the West African leaders in the Ghanaian capital Accra on February 3rd to review the developments. It is feared that years of efforts to steer West Africa towards stability and democracy are being defeated. Many countries in the ECOWAS bloc are also concerned that the coups may inspire similar actions against many more governments.
The agenda of the one-day meeting is to assess the outcome of two missions to Burkina following the coup. Burkina was suspended from Ecowas after rebel soldiers arrested President Roch Marc Christian Kabore amid public anger at his handling of a jihadist insurgency. The economic punishment can further accelerate the country that is already in deep economic distress. For Mali and Guinea, Ecowas has already slapped crippling sanctions for hampering elections and not restoring civilian rule. The punitive measures included the closure of borders by Ecowas members, an embargo on trade and financial transactions and sanctions against individuals.
On imposing sanctions, Ecowas leaders have to balance the credibility of their organisation against the fragility of some of their states, especially in the Sahel. Countries like Mali and Burkina Faso have suffered a nearly decade-old jihadist emergency that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced half a million people from their homes.
