Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has continued its mediation efforts to resolve the political impasse that led to the military coup in the crises ridden country on Tuesday.
ECOWAS had Wednesday issued statement suspending the country from its activities and directed it’s members to close borders with Mali
Businessday gathered from sources close to Presidential Villa, Abuja late Wednesday, that ECOWAS leaders will continue it efforts on Thursday with a Virtual Extraordinary Session of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, on the situation in Mali.
President Muhammadu Buhari will be joining other ECOWAS leaders at the Virtual meeting from the Presidential Villa, Abuja. ECOWAS leaders had following the Military Coup, suspended Mali from the organisation over the ousting of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
President Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse were arrested by the rebel soldiers on Tuesday after weeks of unrest which started on July 10
The political crises led to riots during which some protesters were killed by security agents.
READ ALSO: Despite assurances by coup leaders, ECOWAS rejects army takeover in Mali
But Keita was reported to have resigned from his position as Malian President on Wednesday, to avert blood bath in the country
In a statement, ECOWAS asked all its members to close land and air borders to Mali.
The statement also said more sanctions will be meted out against “all the putschists and their partners and collaborators”.
“ECOWAS has noted with great concern the seizure of power by Malian military putschists,” the regional body said.
In June, opponents asked Keita, who had spent two out of his five-year second term in office, to step down.
A resistance group, M5, also insisted that the constitutional court must be dissolved before peace can return to the country.
The unrest was ticked off by the nullification of results of 31 parliamentary seats in the country’s elections and the awarding of a victory to some candidates, which the resistance group said was at the behest of Keita.
Tuesdays’ Coup which took place shortly after former Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathan, left the country, has been widely condemned by ECOWAS leaders as unacceptable
Jonathan who is the ECOWAS Special Envoy to the Republic of Mali had briefed President Buhari on the political situation in the West African country, as a corollary to efforts by West African leaders to restore stability to the country.
This was after President Buhari and four other ECOWAS leaders had visited Bamako, Mali, last month, followed by a virtual extraordinary summit of the sub-regional body.
Former President Jonathan, who was in Mali from Monday to Thursday, last week, recounted his meetings with the stakeholders, including political and religious leaders, Ambassadors of US, France, Russia, Germany, European Union, and other important personalities key to peace and cohesion in the country.
The main opposition group, M5, he said, continued to insist on the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, a position not acceptable to ECOWAS, which insisted only on the democratic process in a change of power within its jurisdiction.
“We told them that no international organization, including the African Union (AU), United Nations (UN), and others, would agree with their position. We continued to emphasize the need for dialogue,” former President Jonathan stressed.
He added that the Constitutional Court had been reconstituted and inaugurated, while vacancies in the Supreme Court had been filled, thus sorting out the judicial arm of government.
