ECOWAS Leaders Decide to Introduce Progressive Sanctions Against Guinea

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The leaders of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries decided at an extraordinary summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to introduce progressive sanctions against Guinea over military coup, according to a joint statement released following the summit.

"We have decided to impose progressive sanctions against individuals and the junta in Guinea... In a short period of time the ECOWAS president and head of commission will determine the list of persons who will be subjected to sanctions, and we will gradually introduce the sanctions," the statement read, as quoted by the French radio station RFI.

Additionally, ECOWAS leaders also decided to send a high-level mission, which will include the presidents of Togo, Senegal and Ghana, to Mali very soon, the radio station reported, adding that this trip could take place on September 27. The heads of ECOWAS countries demand the immediate release of 46 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali in July.

On September 5, 2021, Col. Mamady Doumbouya came to power through a coup in Guinea. The military dismissed the government, abrogated the constitution, and closed borders. Then-President Alpha Conde was arrested and, according to Doumbouya, placed in a safe place under military supervision. ECOWAS suspended Guinea's membership in the organization and demanded the president be released. Doumbouya was sworn in as transitional president by the Supreme Court on October 1 and pledged to remain committed to the country's sovereignty and to fulfill his functions in the interests of the Guinean people.

In May of last year, the Malian armed forces led by then-Vice President Assimi Goita removed interim President Bah Ndaw and acting Prime Minister Moctar Ouane from office after accusing them of breaking transition rules. A military council took control of the country and announced its intention to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in 2022. In June 2021, the Constitutional Court of Mali declared Goita the interim president.

In July 2022, the authorities of Mali made the decision to suspend the rotation of the military in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), including those already announced and planned. The decision was made against the background of the detention of 49 soldiers from the Ivory Coast, who, according to the Ivorian authorities, arrived as part of a UN mission. Malian authorities said that the soldiers were allegedly mercenaries and planned a coup. In early September, three women from the detained military were released.