The Economic Community of West African States is expected to suspend all sanctions imposed on Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, who are under military rule after juntas overthrew the civilian governments of all three countries. Presidential sources told Saturday PUNCH that with the lifted sanctions, the bloc would attempt to talk the three alienated states out of their decision to withdraw. However, the military-led juntas of Burkina-Faso, Mali and Niger, in late January, announced their withdrawal over “illegal sanctions” harming their people. A presidential source who spoke to Saturday PUNCH late Friday revealed that “ECOWAS is likely to lift the sanctions against those three states. If you check what the President said in Addis Ababa, you will get where this is coming from.”

Source: Punch February 24, 2024 16:05 UTC