Mali: ECOWAS schedules a new summit on Friday and invites Goïta

The Community of West African States ECOWAS is organizing an extraordinary summit on Friday in Ghana on the political situation in Mali and has invited the head of the Malian junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, to participate, indicates a document from the regional organization consulted on Wednesday 23 March by AFP.

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This summit will take place less than a week after the ECOWAS mediator in the Malian crisis left Mali without reaching an agreement with the junta on a timetable for the return of civilians to the head of this country plunged for 10 years in a deep security and political crisis.

ECOWAS conditions a gradual lifting of the heavy economic and diplomatic sanctions that it imposed on Mali on January 9 to the presentation by the authorities of an "

for holding elections that would bring civilians back to power.

ECOWAS has so far requested the organization of elections within 12 to 16 months.

During the visit of mediator Goodluck Jonathan a few days ago, the military-installed government itself acknowledged that Colonel Goïta had reduced the initial claims from four years (from January 2022) to two years.

But during the discussions, "

," said the Malian government.

ECOWAS will organize Friday from 2:00 p.m. GMT “

”, indicates a document sent by the Commission of the West African organization to Malian Foreign Affairs.

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Colonel Goïta, who took power by force with other colonels in August 2020 and was sworn in as president following a second putsch in May 2021, "

" , the document says.

No information has been provided by the Malian authorities as to the participation or not of Colonel Goïta at the summit.