West African heads of state have put off a decision on whether to further punish the leaders of Mali, Guinea and Burkina FasoACCRA, Ghana -- West African heads of state put off further punishing the leaders of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso at a regional summit Saturday, as coup leaders in all three countries continue to insist that it will take years before new elections can be held. The 15-nation regional bloc known as ECOWAS will convene again on July 3 before determining if further sanctions will be implemented in the three suspended members states, ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said. ECOWAS already imposed strong economic sanctions against Mali back in January — shutting down most commerce, along with land and air borders with other countries in the bloc. Nine months later, he carried out a second coup when he dismissed the country's civilian transitional leader and became president himself. ———Associated Press writers Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali; and Boubacar Diallo in Conakry, Guinea contributed.

Source: ABC News June 04, 2022 22:18 UTC