ECOWAS calls for the immediate release of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and officials, and above all the restoration of the Head of State to his duties. “The time of coups d’état is over,” says ECOWAS and this is the message it intends to convey to the junta. Mali is also suspended from all ECOWAS decision-making bodies with immediate effect. After the announcement of these decisions, the ECOWAS videoconference was extended to the African Union with the participation of its Chairman, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa. Several world powers, including France urged restoration of constitutional order in Mali, while the UN urged the immediate release of arrested government members.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 21, 2020 20:37 UTC