The head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Thursday that the coup in Mali was “contagious” and that it had set a dangerous trend that would lead to additional coups in the region.
After Mali’s coup in August 2020, we saw a second coup there in May, one in Guinea in September, a coup in Burkina Faso a week ago, and another failed coup in Guinea-Bissau the day before.
In the opening remarks at a West African summit in Ghana’s capital Accra, Nana Akufo-Addo urged leaders to address the coup in Burkina Faso collectively and decisively.
He said the summit attendees will be able to talk about the issues relating to the military’s interference in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.
In addition to suspending Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso from the 15-nation bloc, ECOWAS has also imposed sanctions on Mali and Guinea, hitting Mali particularly hard after its junta failed to organize elections and proposed holding power until 2025.
Due to the financial freeze, Mali defaulted on more than $31 million of bond payments, it said on Wednesday.
The regional bloc and its Western allies, however, have found they have limited leverage in deterring the surge in support for military leadership in West Africa’s Sahel region, largely because governments are unable to contain the escalating Islamist insurgency.
On Monday, an ECOWAS delegation visited Burkina Faso to meet with coup leader Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, who declared himself head of state without proposing a timeline for returning to constitutional order.
It was expected that the delegation would report back on the talks to other ECOWAS members on Thursday.