West Africa’s main regional bloc. ECOWAS, has said that it will close borders with Mali and impose sweeping economic sanctions in response to delays in holding promised elections after a 2020 military coup. Al Jazeera reports that the 15-member bloc said the sanctions would include the closure of members’ land and air borders with Mali, the suspension of non-essential financial transactions, and the freezing of Malian state assets in ECOWAS central and commercial banks. Meanwhile, regional monetary union UEMOA instructed all financial institutions under its umbrella to suspend Mali with immediate effect, severing the country’s access to regional financial markets. There was no immediate response from the Malian authorities.
