Guinea’s borders open to Mali hit by ECOWAS sanctions

Guinea’s military junta says it will keep its borders open to Mali, despite ECOWAS sanctions against Bamako.

Guinea’s ruling junta’s spokesperson announced on national television that the country’s borders with neighboring Mali would remain open. Colonel Mamady Doumbouya’s government is at odds with the Ecowas group, which decided on Sunday to freeze Malian assets at the region’s central bank and order the closure of land borders, among other sanctions.

“The National Committee for Reconciliation and Development (CNRD) wishes to inform the public and international opinion that the Republic of Guinea was not involved in the decision of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government at their 4th extraordinary summit.” As a result, the committee reaffirms that the Republic of Guinea’s air, land, and sea borders remain open to all sister nations in accordance with its Pan-Africanist vision,” said Aminata Diallo, a CNRD spokeswoman.

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Guinea’s decision is an outlier; following a military coup in September, the country was suspended from the 15-member regional bloc.

Malian authorities eventually stated that they remained open to dialogue with Ecowas after announcing retaliatory measures.

The regional group demanded that elections be held in February, but the military regime claimed that widespread insecurity was too much of a problem to keep to the schedule.

The country has been fighting a brutal jihadist insurgency since 2012, which began in Burkina Faso and then spread to Niger.

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In Mali, there is no agreement on the issue, with some supporting the postponement of elections and others advocating for their holding.