The African Union (AU) has said that Mali’s military junta must quickly appoint civilian leaders who should then manage an 18-month transition towards elections.
The AU Peace and Security Commissioner Smail Chergui says a return to civilian rule is crucial for Mali.
West African leaders have been unable to reach an agreement with military leaders of Mali who carried out a coup last month to topple the government of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
This is the fourth coup in the West African state since it gained independence from France in 1960.
During talks in Ghana’s capital Accra, ECOWAS leaders could not persuade the soldiers to hand over power to a civilian government immediately.
The leader of Mali’s junta, Col Assimi Goita, as well as representatives from the United Nations and African Union also attended.
The chairman of the regional bloc said, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo Addo told journalists that “We have not reached any agreement with the military junta.”
The Ecowas mediation team is expected to travel to Mali in the coming days to continue to push for results.
Mali has already been hit with sanctions and ECOWAS is hoping the political crisis can be resolved quickly so sanctions can be lifted.
“We need a civilian leadership of the transition and we have also made it clear that the minute that leadership input is in place…the sanctions…would be lifted,” President Akufo Addo said.
Source: Africafeeds.com
