Mali

Leaders of West African states and Mali's military coup failed to agree on a transfer to civilian rule in talks this week, raising concerns about the political standoff and regional security in that country.

The Peace and Security series evaluates European Union (EU) performance in the field of peace and security in a specific geographical region each year. This, the third thematic study in the series, focuses on the EU's contribution to resolving the conflicts in the Sahel, restoring stability and building peace in the region.

EPRS briefing on the challenges of security cooperation with a regional grouping.

Divisions deepened between Mali's military coup leaders and the country's political opposition movement on Sunday after the ruling junta announced a plan that would allow a military leader to oversee an 18-month transitional period.

[…] August’s power grab by a group of army colonels — Mali’s fourth coup since independence — is again posing questions about whether and for how long French boots should remain in an increasingly shifting and dangerous terrain.

Mali's military rulers have launched a three-day "national consultation" with political parties, unions and members of civil society groups, facing questions at home and pressure from abroad over their plans for returning the country to civilian rule.

Police fired tear gas to disperse campaigners for civilian rule before substantive talks over Mali’s political future began in Bamako on Thursday, a sign of a deepening rift over who should lead the post-coup transitional government.

West African regional heads of state have told the military junta in Mali to name a transitional president and a prime minister by September 15, according to a statement read at the end of a summit in Niger’s capital.

[…] Although the putschists promised to organise elections and reinstate the constitutional order, no clear path for transition emerged from the discussions with the West African regional authority, ECOWAS. The coup risks further destabilising the Sahel and challenges the EU strategy in the region.

The Security Council, in a videoconference meeting on 31 August, announced its decision to renew sanctions in Mali for one year, unanimously adopting a resolution that also extends the work of the expert panel established to focus on the matter.