West Africa imposed sanctions against Mali

The economic community of the West African states (Ekovas) introduced economic sanctions against Mali, where a military junta came to power. The new leadership of the country requires the authority, Agency France-Presse reports with reference to the President of the Cote D'Ivoir Alassan Wattar.

The leaders of the 15 member countries of the community decided to close their borders for trade with Mali. In addition, the country's account was frozen in the Central Bank of Western Africa in Dakar. At the same time, the Ekovas troops are put on combat readiness - the decision on their location will be made within a week.

According to Wattar, sanctions will be valid until the junta returns the legal constitutional system in Mali.

It should be noted that for the new authorities, the Ekovas decision is critical, since Mali completely depends on the import of raw materials. A blocked account can lead to the fact that the military will not be able to pay civil servants salaries.

The military junta made a coup on March 22, overthrowing the President Amadu Tour and canceling the 1992 constitution. The new authorities argue that the overthrown head of state was not able to fight the rebels, who have actively seized the northern territories of the country since the beginning of 2012.

However, as Polit.ru wrote earlier, the military could not prevent Tuaregs from capturing the entire northern part of the country, which they call Azavad. At the same time, the rebels announced the creation of a new state in this territory.

The military junta promised to restore the old constitution and give way to legitimate power. However, Ekovas did not respond to the statements of the leadership of Mali, emphasizing that the military did not fulfill the ultimatum to return the soldiers to the barracks.