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Mali braced for possible sanctions on Monday after its
military rulers pledged to start returning power to civilians but no
concrete moves were taken and it was not clear if neighbours would lift
threats of isolation.
A 72-hour deadline, set by West African bloc ECOWAS, for soldiers to
start returning to barracks expired as northern separatist rebels said
they had completed a lightning push south, seizing three regional
capitals in as many days as Mali's army units retreated.
The coup, a month before President Amadou Toumani Toure was due to
step down for elections has shattered the international reputation of
stability and democracy that Africa's No. 3 gold producer previously
enjoyed.
Amadou Sanogo, an army captain who led a March 21 coup, on Sunday
pledged to reinstate the constitution and all state institutions before
holding an election.
ECOWAS, which has threatened the closure of trade borders, diplomatic
isolation and a freeze in funding from the regional central bank, did
not officially react to the move.
Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara, who heads ECOWAS, said he
spoke to Mali's junta chief on Sunday to thank him for a pledge to
restore constitutional order but did not say if the sanction threat
remained in place.
"We will work (with other leaders) as soon as possible, without delay
so that this (return to constitutional rule) will be done," Ouattara
said on Senegalese state television.
West African leaders are due to meet in Dakar on Monday, and will
discuss Mali on the sidelines of the swearing-in of Senegal's new
president, Macky Sall, officials said.
The threat of sanctions underlines how seriously Mali's neighbours
take a coup which they fear could trigger similar attempts in countries
which have been blighted by decades of civil war and power grabs.
Sanogo cited Toure's poor handling of the rebellion, which has seen
soldiers lack the equipment, ammunition and food in remote zones, as the
main reason for the coup.
"Borders of Azawad"
Yet, since the military came to power, the MNLA rebels have overrun
the capitals of the three regions they want to seize to create an
independent state called Azawad.
Timbuktu, after Kidal on Friday and Gao on Saturday, was the last to fall as army units fled on Sunday.
Hama Ag Mahmoud, a member of the MNLA's political wing, said the group did not plan on pushing further south.
"Our aim today is not to go beyond the borders of Azawad," he told Reuters in Mauritania.
"We don't want to give anyone the impression that we are warmongers
so, once we have freed the areas we target, the job is done," he added.
Ouattara said the West African leaders assembled in Senegal would discuss the crisis in Mali's north.
"We strongly support Mali's territorial integrity and we will put all
necessary measures so as to end the rebellion and so that Mali can
regain its territorial integrity," he said.
ECOWAS has been mulling for weeks how to help Bamako fight off the
rebellion but the bloc has no standing army and assistance from the
region and Western partners has been effectively blocked by the coup.
Reuters
military rulers pledged to start returning power to civilians but no
concrete moves were taken and it was not clear if neighbours would lift
threats of isolation.
A 72-hour deadline, set by West African bloc ECOWAS, for soldiers to
start returning to barracks expired as northern separatist rebels said
they had completed a lightning push south, seizing three regional
capitals in as many days as Mali's army units retreated.
The coup, a month before President Amadou Toumani Toure was due to
step down for elections has shattered the international reputation of
stability and democracy that Africa's No. 3 gold producer previously
enjoyed.
Amadou Sanogo, an army captain who led a March 21 coup, on Sunday
pledged to reinstate the constitution and all state institutions before
holding an election.
ECOWAS, which has threatened the closure of trade borders, diplomatic
isolation and a freeze in funding from the regional central bank, did
not officially react to the move.
Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara, who heads ECOWAS, said he
spoke to Mali's junta chief on Sunday to thank him for a pledge to
restore constitutional order but did not say if the sanction threat
remained in place.
"We will work (with other leaders) as soon as possible, without delay
so that this (return to constitutional rule) will be done," Ouattara
said on Senegalese state television.
West African leaders are due to meet in Dakar on Monday, and will
discuss Mali on the sidelines of the swearing-in of Senegal's new
president, Macky Sall, officials said.
The threat of sanctions underlines how seriously Mali's neighbours
take a coup which they fear could trigger similar attempts in countries
which have been blighted by decades of civil war and power grabs.
Sanogo cited Toure's poor handling of the rebellion, which has seen
soldiers lack the equipment, ammunition and food in remote zones, as the
main reason for the coup.
"Borders of Azawad"
Yet, since the military came to power, the MNLA rebels have overrun
the capitals of the three regions they want to seize to create an
independent state called Azawad.
Timbuktu, after Kidal on Friday and Gao on Saturday, was the last to fall as army units fled on Sunday.
Hama Ag Mahmoud, a member of the MNLA's political wing, said the group did not plan on pushing further south.
"Our aim today is not to go beyond the borders of Azawad," he told Reuters in Mauritania.
"We don't want to give anyone the impression that we are warmongers
so, once we have freed the areas we target, the job is done," he added.
Ouattara said the West African leaders assembled in Senegal would discuss the crisis in Mali's north.
"We strongly support Mali's territorial integrity and we will put all
necessary measures so as to end the rebellion and so that Mali can
regain its territorial integrity," he said.
ECOWAS has been mulling for weeks how to help Bamako fight off the
rebellion but the bloc has no standing army and assistance from the
region and Western partners has been effectively blocked by the coup.
Reuters
