ECOWAS has suspended Guinea following a coup against Alpha Conde
The bloc says it will send a mediator to Conakry tomorrow
The suspension was reached after a virtual summit of Heads of State today
West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has suspended Guinea following a September 5 coup that ousted President Alpha Conde.
Chairman of ECOWAS, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, convened a virtual summit today (September 8) at which the Guinean issue was discussed among Heads of State and representatives of the African Union and United Nations.
WHiles the bloc has yet to release a formal statement, the suspension has been confirmed by Burkinabe Foreign Minister Alpha Barry, whose President Roch Marc Kabore was in the meeting.
ECOWAS will also send a mediation mission to Guinea on Thursday, Barry further confirmed to journalists in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou.
The bloc has yet to name the mediator who will be heading to Mali and details of their mission.
Hours after the coup, the ECOWAS chair issued a stern statement which read in part: “ECOWAS demands respect for the physical safety of the President of the Republic, Professor Alpha Condé, and his immediate and unconditional release, as well as that of all arrested persons. ECOWAS also demands a return to constitutional order or pain of sanctions.
“ECOWAS reaffirms its objection to any unconstitutional political change. We ask the Guinean defence and security forces to remain in a constitutional posture, and express our solidarity with the Guinean people and their Government.”
