ECOWAS CLOSES BORDERS WITH MALI, IMPOSES ECONOMIC SANCTIONS OVER DELAYED ELECTIONS

The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, said it will close its borders with Mali and impose sweeping economic sanctions as a response to the delay in holding promised elections by the military after a 2020 coup. This was part of the resolution after  an extraordinary summit of leaders of the 15-member ECOWAS in Accra, Ghana to discuss a proposal from Mali’s transitional authorities to hold elections in December 2025 instead of next month as originally agreed.

In the communique, the organization said it found the proposed timetable for a transition totally unacceptable, describing the timetable as an illegitimate military transition government holding Malians hostage. ECOWAS said it had agreed to impose additional sanctions on Mali with immediate effect, among them, the closure of members’ land and air borders, suspension of non-essential financial transactions, and the freezing of Malian state assets in ECOWAS central and commercial banks.

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