Sierra Leone to Mediate with ECOWAS & Sanctioned Countries

Timothy Musa Kabba, Foreign Affairs Minister

By Mohamed Dauda Kamara

In a press briefing on Tuesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Timothy Kabba, disclosed the country’s commitment to mediating between ECOWAS, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.

“The sanctions imposed by ECOWAS are affecting lives. We aim to mediate with these countries to return to constitutional democracy,” he expressed.

He also revealed to the press that, unlike Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, the latter two are not willing to return to constitutional power.

While he asserted that the mediation is a delicate issue, the minister also stated that the three countries occupy half of West Africa, limiting the countries’ movements in trade.

Minister Kabba expressed his country’s empathy towards these countries, pledging their readiness to mediate peacefully with ECOWAS.

In a statement authored by ECOWAS on January 28, 2024, the regional bloc conveyed that they have not received any formal notification from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso that they were withdrawing from them, thus stating their position on restoring constitutional order in these countries.

A gunfire had erupted in Burkina Faso in January 2022, in front of the Burkinabé presidential residence in the capital, Ouagadougou, and several other military barracks in the city, leading to an overthrow of the democratic head of state, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

In 2020 when the Malian coup ensued, inducing a grip of power in 2021, a military group led by Vice President Assimi Goïta captured President Bah N’daw. Assimi had announced that N’daw and Ouane had been stripped of power, promising that “new elections would be held in 2022.”

However, the Mali military government has also promised that they will restore civilian rule in March 2024. The military leader, Assimi Goïta, had read a 24-month decree, saying that the “duration of the transition is fixed at March 26, 2022.”

Also, in July 2023, Niger was stormed by a military coup in which a faction of armed forces had seized power, suspended the constitution, and subverted President Mohamed Bazoum. President Bazoum was placed under house arrest as the Juntas seized power in Niger, prompting ECOWAS’ intervention to restore constitutional order.

Nonetheless, these three countries have failed to restore civilian rule, prompting a sanction from ECOWAS.

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