AFTER the military rulers of Mali broke their promise to organize elections in February, the European Union agreed to impose travel restrictions and freeze the assets of five members of the junta.
The measures, which have the support of all 27 EU governments and are expected to take effect soon, and this coming after the ECOWAS grouping of West African states imposed a raft of restrictions against Mali, condemning the transitional military government’s attempts to extend its control.
Despite military support, high-level political attention, and development aid, the bloc was failing to stabilize the broader Sahel region following a succession of coups in Mali, Chad, and Burkina Faso.
Local sentiment has hardened against European participation as Islamist militants gain power.
The names of the five people who will be sanctioned could not be found immediately.
According to diplomats, they were junta officials who were also targeted by ECOWAS. The officials stated that Mali’s foreign and defense ministers will not be targeted in order to preserve diplomatic channels open.
The EU’s travel bans and asset freezes are unlikely to have an immediate impact on the Bamako junta, but they do strive to fulfill the group’s vow to support ECOWAS, even if the sanctions are more limited than those taken by the regional bloc.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian declared on Friday that Mali’s junta was “illegitimate” amid escalating tensions between the West African state and its European partners following two coups.
He stated that it prompted Mali to expel France’s ambassador on Monday, giving him 72 hours to leave and marked low in relations after the junta went back on its agreement to organize elections in February. It proposes holding power until 2025.
The junta has also used Russian private military contractors, which some European nations have deemed incompatible with their mission.
Gabriel Attal, a spokesperson for the French government, said Paris was working with its partners to re-adapt its regional strategy within two weeks. “One thing is certain: things cannot stay the same,” he told Franceinfo radio.
Mali had already requested that Denmark withdraw its troops from a European task force stationed in the country.
Mali’s government spokesman warned France to keep its “colonial reflexes” to themselves after France asked for the Danish troops to stay.
