Status: 04.02.2022 5:48 p.m
The EU has decided on sanctions against members of the Malian junta. They are accused of delaying elections and obstructing the political transition. The prime minister of the interim government is also affected.
The EU has imposed sanctions on representatives of those in power in Mali. According to a decision by the 27 member states on Friday, the punitive measures such as entry bans and asset freezes are initially aimed at five people.
Among them are Prime Minister Choguel Maïga, the President of the so-called National Transitional Council, Malick Diaw, and two ministers. Among other things, they are accused of threatening the country’s stability and impeding the political transition, according to the sanctions decision published in the EU Official Journal.
In May of last year, the military staged a second coup in Mali, which has a population of around 20 million. The interim government postponed the elections originally planned for February by several years.
Putschist leader Assimi Goita had himself proclaimed the new interim president. From the point of view of critics, he has been delaying the necessary preparations for the presidential and parliamentary elections since then.
After France criticized the postponement of the elections, the military junta asked the French ambassador to leave the country. Relations between the military government in Bamako and the French government have increasingly deteriorated.
EU engaged in Mali
The developments in the country are significant for Europe, above all because of the threat of terrorism and the high level of EU support to date. The EU is active in Mali with a military training mission (EUTM Mali). There is also the EUCAP Sahel Mali operation, which provides assistance to the national police, the national gendarmerie and the national guard in implementing a security reform.
Germany had recently stationed around 1,400 soldiers in Mali. Around 300 of them were seconded to EUTM Mali, the others to the United Nations Stabilization Mission.
The junta is working ever more closely with Russian “military advisers”. France and the United States, among others, have accused her of allowing herself to be supported by Russian mercenaries under the guise of fighting terrorism.