AU welcomes Mali deal

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has welcomed the deal between ECOWAS and the putschists in Mali, which paves the way for the restoration of constitutional rule in the West African state, the continental body said in a statement.

In the statement issued in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, late Saturday, AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping hailed the ECOWAS Chairman, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, and the ECOWAS Mediator, President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, for their roles in achieving the ''significant breakthrough''.

''The Chairperson of the commission urges all Malian stakeholders concerned to implement, in good faith, the just-concluded agreement, to enable their country overcome the daunting challenges facing it, in order to restore its democratic process and the authority of the state over its entire national territory,'' Ping said.

Under the deal, the head of the Malian junta that seized power 22 March will hand over to the Speaker of the National Assembly, while a consensual Prime Minister will be appointed to guide the electoral process.

Following the pact, the West African regional bloc has lifted the economic, financial and diplomatic sanctions it imposed on Mali in the wake of the coup.
-0- PANA SEG 8April2012