ECOWAS to send troops to Mali, Guinea-Bissau

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS said on Thursday it would send troops to Mali and Guinea-Bissau to help swiftly reinstate civilian rule after their coups, and threatened sanctions if junta leaders try to cling to power. The decision was one of the most forceful moves by the group in recent years, and won the immediate support of the European Union as a way to reinforce democratic reform in a part of the world known for military coups and civil wars.

Soldiers in Mali, a country once viewed as an example of
democracy in Africa, overthrew the government in March, while the army of the tiny coastal nation of Guinea-Bissau seized power and derailed elections with a putsch on April 12.

Speaking at a special summit of West African leaders, Alassane Ouattara, President of the Ivory Coast and current president of ECOWAS, said the security and stability of West Africa had significance for the whole world. ECOWAS said it expected both Mali and Guinea-Bissau to hold presidential elections within 12 months, according to a statement issued after the meeting in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan.

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