West African countries sanction guinea coup leaders, call for elections

The ECOWAS regional block imposed sanctions on Guinea’s coup leaders and called for elections in six months in order to return to civilian rule.

Guinea had already been suspended by the 15-member block after a coup on September 5 ousted the president.

“The heads of state insisted that the transition must be very short,” ECOWAS Commission President Jean Claude Kassi Brou told reporters after leaders met in Accra for a summit on the Guinea crisis.

“The transition should not last more than six months. In six months, elections should be held.”

In a communiqué reported by AFP, ECOWAS said it will impose travel bans on members of the military junta as well as their families, in addition to freezing their financial assets.

ECOWAS also called on the AU and the EU to back the sanctions on the junta known as National Committee of Reconciliation and Development (CNRD).

“By having specific, targetted sanctions to members of CNRD we are sending a strong signal to all those who are tempted to have this type of idea,” Kassi Brou said. “There will be a price, a very high price.”

While Guinea’s junta began talks with the country’s leaders on the path towards civilian rule, coup leader Mamady Doubouya refuses to commit to a timetable.

“The only timetable that counts is that of the Guinean people who have suffered so much,” the military leader said.