Mali Junta leader is asked to attend ECOWAS organized summit

According to document seen by AFP, a summit will be held by the Economic Community of West African States with the Sahel nation’s junta leader, Assimi Goita, invited on Friday over Mali’s political crisis. It was however not clear whether the strongman, a former special forces commander, will attend.

The summit is due to take place in Ghana’s capital Accra, about a week since the ECOWAS envoy to Mali travelled to Bamako for inconclusive talks on restoring civilian rule.

The 15-nation ECOWAS is pushing for the military, which seized power in a 2020 coup, to stage elections within 12 to 16 months.

But the coup leader, Goita  who has since been sworn in as interim president, has so far defied international pressure to hold elections.

In January, ECOWAS imposed a trade embargo and border closures on Mali after the junta proposed remaining in power for up to five years.

According to an ECOWAS document seen by AFP on Wednesday, the bloc is planning a summit on Mali’s “political situation” on Friday, with Goita invited to attend.

Much of Mali, a vast nation of 21 million people, is plagued by a jihadist conflict that first emerged in 2012 before spreading to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Former colonial power France has thousands of troops deployed across the Sahel, with the majority in Mali.

However, Paris announced this month that it would pull troops out of Mali after a breakdown in relations with the junta.