The African Union (AU) has decided to ban Mali once again amidst a second military coup in nine months.
The AU’s decision comes barely days after Mali was suspended from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The AU said in a statement that the military should “urgently and unconditionally return to the barracks, and to refrain from further interference in the political processes in Mali.”
It warned that until the military cedes power to civilian transitional leaders, “the Council will not hesitate to impose targeted sanctions and other punitive measures.”
Colonel Assimi Goita, Mali’s new president, took power by deposing the president and prime minister and forcing them to resign, a move that regional bloc officials criticized as a violation of mediation measures.
Two coups have occurred in the Sahelian nation in the last nine months.
On August 18, 2020, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, popularly known as “IBK,” was overthrown by a putsch after many months of anti-government protests.
Mali was then suspended by the AU. However, the continental organization reversed its decision in early October when the junta agreed to an 18-month transition to civilian governance.
On April 15, 2021, the transitional authorities planned presidential and parliamentary elections for February and March 2022.
However, in May, the military, dissatisfied with a cabinet reshuffle made in response to rising demonstrations, detained President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and took them to the military camp at Kati, near Bamako.
Colonel Assimi Goita, a pivotal character in the present political turmoil, was then named head of state and interim president by the Constitutional Court. Goita assured that the elections will take place in 2022.
The AU’s communiqué urged all current leaders to abstain from running in the next elections and urged the relaxation of “restrictions” on all political players, including Ndaw and Ouane, who are now under house arrest.
Additionally, it announced the impending organization of an assessment mission to Mali.
