ECOWAS impose sanctions on Mali junta

The new president of Senegal has sworn his oath of office at a ceremony attended by several fellow African leaders.
 
Macky Sall, who was elected with two-thirds of the vote, has made tackling poverty a priority.
 
As Sall was cementing Senegal’s reputation as one of the continent’s most stable democracies, the regional leaders were preparing for emergency talks in Dakar on a military coup in neighbouring Mali.
 
The ECOWAS group of 15 west African countries have imposed diplomatic, trade and financial sanctions on the military regime with immediate effect.
 
The measures include closing Mali’s borders, a potentially crippling move for a landlocked country.
 
Rebels in Mali have promised to hand over power to a democratically elected government.
 
The ECOWAS leaders accused the military junta of attempting to buy time with their promises, pointing out that there was no timetable for the restoration of constitutional order.

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