The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders on Thursday said the military government in the coup-hit Burkina Faso has shown a willingness to work towards a return to constitutional order, reported Reuters.
The West African bloc leaders have called on the new military rulers, who announced their coup on Jan. 24, to propose a firm date for returning the country to democratic rule.
During a news conference, ECOWAS Commission President Jean Claude Kassi Brou said there was no need to impose more sanctions against the military that deposed Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Kabore.
“We have engaged them. And they have shown interest that they want to work with ECOWAS towards the restoration of constitutional order,” Brou said at the conclusion of a summit in Ghana’s capital. “Since they have shown the ability to work with ECOWAS, we can’t just impose the maximum sanctions.”
However, he warned that the regional body will take further action if the junta continues to detain Burkina Faso’s deposed leader Kabore.
Notably, three of the 15 ECOWAS bloc countries are currently suspended because of military coups namely Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso. Earlier this week, security forces quelled a coup attempt in Guinea-Bissau too.
Ghanaian President and ECOWAS chairman Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said countries must address the dangerous coup trend collectively and decisively before it devastates the entire region. He added that the 2020 Malian coup had had a contagious influence on Guinea and Burkina Faso.
The heads of ECOWAS member countries who met in Ghana’s capital Accra, said they regretted that another military government in Mali has not yet presented an acceptable path to return to constitutional order, which could result in the easing of sanctions. After agreeing to an 18-month transition in Bamako, Mali’s junta leader has decided to delay elections for years because of the security situation across the country.
