ECOWAS suspends Mali after twin coups

President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo chairs the ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit on the situation in Mali in Accra on May 30, 2021. West African leaders met in Ghana today to discuss a response to Mali’s second coup in nine months, which has sparked warnings of fresh sanctions and deep concerns over stability in the volatile Sahel region. (Photo by Nipah Dennis / AFP)

ACCRA, Ghana — West African leaders, meeting in a regional summit Sunday, suspended Mali from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bodies after a second coup by the Malian military.

“The suspension from ECOWAS takes immediate effect until the deadline of the end of February 2022 when they are supposed to hand over to a democratically elected government,” Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey told reporters.

“One of the decisions of the heads of state is that they should ensure that in the next few days a civilian prime minister is put in place to form the next government,” she added.