Arthur Greene
Mali’s membership in the African Union has been suspended with immediate effect and the country has been threatened with sanctions following its second military coup in nine months.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the AU “decides to immediately suspend the Republic of Mali from participation in all activities of the African Union, its organs and institutions, until normal constitutional order has been restored in the country.”
The statement went on to call for Mali’s military to “urgently and unconditionally return to the barracks, and to refrain from further interference in the political processes in Mali.”
The AU’s Peace and Security Council condemned the coup “in the strongest terms possible.”
The decision follows Mali’s expulsion from another international body, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Last August, Colonel Assimi Goita led a military coup to overthrow elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, following mass protests over allegations of corruption.
Following the takeover, Goita agreed to place civilians in positions at the head of state under pressure from ECOWAS.
He also pledged that Mali would hold an election in early 2022.
Last week, Goita provoked an international uproar after the military arrested the interim president, Bah Ndaw, and prime minister Moctar Ouane.
They were both released on Thursday but the military pressured both men to resign from their positions.
Mali’s constitutional court instated Goita as the country’s transitional president.
The military said this week that it still intended to hold presidential elections next year, but that the timetable was liable to change.
Mali’s neighbours and international powers are concerned that this will prove to be yet another of Goita’s broken promises.
Image source: @AJEnglish
