The African Union (AU) announced that it was suspending Mali with immediate effect and threatening the poor country with sanctions after a second military coup in nine months.
The coup has raised deep concerns about stability in the volatile Sahel region and warnings of financial sanctions from the entire international community.
The AU “decides … to immediately suspend the Republic of Mali from participating in all activities of the African Union, its bodies and institutions, until the normal constitutional order of the country has been restored,” the agency’s Peace and Security Council said in a statement late Tuesday.
The move follows a similar suspension on Sunday from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In its statement, the AU called on the military to “immediately and unconditionally return to the barracks and refrain from further interference in the political processes in Mali.” It warned that if the military did not hand over power to civilian transition leaders, “the Council will not hesitate to impose targeted sanctions and other punitive measures.”
Condemning the coup “as strongly as possible”, the AU added that it was “deeply concerned about the developing situation in Mali and its negative impact on the gains made so far in the transition process in the country”.
Strongman Colonel Assimi Goita was at the ECOWAS crisis summit in Ghana on Sunday to argue for the military’s fall but has now returned to Mali. In August, Goita led army officers who overthrew President-elect Ibrahim Boubacar Keita following mass protests over perceived corruption and a bloody uprising.
Following the takeover, the military agreed to appoint civilians as interim president and prime minister under pressure from ECOWAS ‘trade and financial sanctions. But in a move that provoked diplomatic uproar, soldiers last week detained Transitional President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and released them on Thursday while saying they had resigned.
Mali’s constitutional court upheld Goita’s rise to power on Friday by appointing him as interim president. With the junta returning to its former commitment to civilian political leaders, doubts have been raised about its other promises, including a promise to hold elections in early 2022.
The junta said this week that it would continue to respect that timetable, but added that it may change.
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