African Union suspends Mali, threatens sanctions after coup

Addis Ababa, Jun 2 (EFE).- The African Union (AU) on Wednesday suspended Mali as a member and warned of possible sanctions after the country’s military last week carried out its second coup d’état nine months.

In a statement, the AU announced its decision to “immediately suspend the Republic of Mali from participation in all activities of the African Union, its organs and institutions, until normal constitutional order has been restored in the country.”

The Addis Ababa-based organization strongly urged the Malian military to “urgently and unconditionally return to the barracks, and to refrain from further interference in the political processes” of the state.

The AU also demanded “an unimpeded, transparent and swift return to the civilian-led transition … failing which, the Council will not hesitate to impose targeted sanctions.”

The AU followed in the footsteps of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which on Sunday at the end of an extraordinary session devoted to the crisis in Mali, suspended the country from all its institutions and bodies as a result of the two military coups carried out in August 2020 and last week.

The coup leaders deposed President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouané last week, with Vice President Assimi Goita assuming supreme command, later endorsed by the Constitutional Court.

Although the reasons for the coup have not been made public, it is believed that Goita, who also led the coup last August, was opposed to leaving out of the transition government the members of the military who played a leading role during the coup last year.

Ecowas has piloted the transition process from outside Mali in recent months, in concert with the coup leaders, but with the new military coup it has been totally unauthorized. EFE

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