ECOWAS - The African Mirror

Aug

2020

Talks to find a political settlement for Mali coup get underway

MEDIATORS from West Africa's regional bloc have arrived in Mali and started talks aimed at reversing a coup that has been condemned abroad, but celebrated by many in a country battling an Islamist insurgency and simmering political unrest. Leaders from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have taken a particularly hard line on Tuesday's ouster of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. They quickly shut borders and ended financial flows - a move diplomats said was as much about dissuading opponents at home as stabilising Mali. "They cannot tolerate this taking place. They are taking it very personally. It…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Sierra Leoneans sue government for alleged environmental failings at diamond mine

ENVIRONMENT

COOPER INVEEN SIERRA Leoneans living next to the country's largest diamond mine are taking their government to West Africa's regional court for failing to protect them from alleged environmental lapses by the company that runs it, a subsidiary of Octea Limited. The complaint, filed to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court of justice, alleges that the government failed to act when residents of Koidu, the largest city in the diamond-rich Kono district, complained about water contamination and damage to their houses from blasting at the mine. It also said the government had failed to ensure that the…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Regional leaders’ attempt to reverse Mali coup as junta, opposition close ranks

NEWS

TIEMOKO DIALLO and DAVID LEWIS WEST African countries will send a delegation to Mali in an effort to reverse a military coup, presidents from the region said, as an opposition coalition there joined the junta in rejecting foreign interference. Leaders of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened over the crisis on Thursday, after it suspended Mali, shut off borders and halted financial flows in response to Tuesday's overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The coup, which has rocked a country already in the grip of a growing insurgency by Islamist militants and civil unrest, has been…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Mali protest leader steps back as coup leaders promise election

NEWS

TIEMOKOK DIALLO ONE of Mali's most influential power brokers, Mahmoud Dicko, will withdraw from politics, his spokesman said, after a meeting with leaders of a military coup who have promised to oversee elections within a "reasonable" time. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned and dissolved parliament on Tuesday after the mutineers detained him at gunpoint, further rocking a country that is in the grip of a jihadist insurgency and civil unrest. Fearing Keita's fall after nearly seven years in power could destabilise the Sahel region, the African Union and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) both suspended Mali. The mood…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Mali’s opposition rejects West African leaders’ plan to end deadlock

NEWS

TIEMOKO DIALLO MALI's opposition coalition on Tuesday formally rejected a plan proposed by West African leaders for ending a political crisis, raising the prospect of more mass anti-government demonstrations in the coming weeks. Tens of thousands of people answered opposition calls for protests in early June over contested local elections, perceived government corruption and incompetence. Police killings of protesters further inflamed anger against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who the opposition insists should resign. Heads of state of members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) proposed on Monday that the members of parliament whose elections were contested should…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

What’s behind the mass protests in Mali?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MOHAMED SALAHA and PHILIP KLEINFELD PROTESTORS took to the streets of Mali’s capital recently for the latest in a series of mass demonstrations calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has struggled to stem rising jihadist and inter-communal violence in northern and central parts of the country after seven years in power. Malian analysts say the protests – which began last month – represent the most serious threat 75-year-old Keita, commonly known as IBK, has faced since he was elected president a year after a military coup helped extremist groups take control of large chunks of Mali’s…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Mali opposition rejects ECOWAS proposals on ending political crisis

NEWS

AN influential opposition group in Mali has rejected a proposal by regional mediators aimed at ending a political crisis in which at least 11 people have been killed this month during protests against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. ECOWAS, which represents countries in West Africa, sent a delegation to Mali last week to try to help end the crisis, with the protesters calling on Keita to resign over what they say is his failure to halt violence by jihadist groups or address the disputed results of recent legislative elections. Issuing its recommendations on Sunday, the delegation proposed that Mali's Constitutional Court…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Mali PM apologises for security forces ‘excesses’ during protests

NEWS

MALI'S prime minister has apologised for "excesses" by security forces who opened fire last week on anti-government protesters but rejected opposition demands that President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resign. Last Friday, the latest in a series of mass protests in the capital Bamako against Keita turned violent, with security forces firing on protesters, some of whom had occupied state buildings. Clashes continued for several days, with at least 11 people killed in total, the government has said. "Unfortunately, there were excesses. What happened is very regrettable. We apologise for it," Prime Minister Boubou Cisse said in an interview with France 24…