The West Africa bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday condemned a military putsch in Mali and pledged a range of retaliatory actions, including financial sanctions. The 15-nation bloc – which includes Mali – also said that it would suspend the country from its internal decision-making bodies. “ECOWAS has noted with great concern the seizure of power by Malian military putschists,” said the statement, which was originally published in French. In an effort to avoid chaos in notoriously unstable Mali, ECOWAS then stepped in to mediate. The political opposition declared a new phase of anti-government rallies on Monday.

Source: Punch August 19, 2020 01:18 UTC