Panafrican News Agency

ECOWAS to send urgent mission to Mali to obtain the release of president Keita

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday vowed to send an urgent mission to Mali to obtain the release of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and other officials detained by the military junta.

"The heads of state insisted on sending an urgent mission to Mali because we are concerned about the fate of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and all the officials who have been arrested and are being held by the military junta," Burkinabe Foreign Minister, Alpha Barry, said at the end of the summit.

He added that the heads of state insisted on the return of constitutional order in Mali.

Mr Barry stressed that Burkina Faso is deeply concerned about the situation in Mali.   

"The Malian crisis began in 2012 with a first coup d'état with the terrorist threat that eventually reached us. Today, everything that is happening in Mali is being taken with great attention here because we have inherited a lot of the situation from Mali," he explained.

"Today, we must remain vigilant so that the situation Mali is going through does not affect our domestic situation. We hope that reason will prevail," he recommended, adding that Burkina Faso's position remains that of ECOWAS in relation to this Malian crisis.

-0- PANA TNDD/IS/MTA/VAO 20Aug2020