LAGOS, Nigeria: West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS on Sunday announced to lift sanctions imposed on Guinea and Mali.
Earlier the African bloc took similar decision for Niger, another nation under military rule. The ECOWAS imposed restrictions on the three states after military coups between 2020 and 2023.
The bloc in a statement said it was lifting economic and financial sanctions against Guinea and ending restrictions on the recruitment of Malians to professional posts within the institutions of the bloc.
The steps regarding Guinea and Mali, were not mentioned during the closing speech by ECOWAS Commission chief Omar Alieu Touray, at the blocs’ emergency summit but announced in the bloc’s closing statement.
ECOWAS has suspended the membership of all three countries and Burkina Faso because of the military takeovers there.
The bloc stopped financial transactions with Guinea after Colonel Mamady Doumbouya removed president Alpha Conde in 2021 through a military coup.
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The financial and economic sanctions on Mali, which underwent coups in 2020 and 2021, were lifted in 2022 after the military gave a timeframe for a transition back to democratic rule.
While border closures, asset freezes and a no-fly zone against Niger were among the measures lifted on Saturday on humanitarian grounds, after last year the country’s elected leader Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown in a coup.
The ECOWAS gave signals to renew dialogue with military governments among its members, after Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso announced to leave the African-bloc.
The three nations have formed an alliance, cut ties with traditional security partner France and forged closer ties with Russia, which is seeking greater influence in Africa.
