African Union condemns recent string of coups across continent
An unprecedented number of member states have been suspended from the bloc as a result of the military power grabs.
CAPE TOWN, February 8 (ANA) – African leaders have condemned a string of coups across the continent in recent months, after five military takeovers in the past year.
The assembly of African Union (AU) heads of state and government on Saturday commenced its 35th ordinary session, the first to be held in person following a hiatus in 2021 when it met virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two of the countries where the army has seized power recently — Burkina Faso and Mali — have been struggling to contain Islamist insurgencies, according to BBC News Africa.
An unprecedented number of AU member states have been suspended from the bloc as a result of military power grabs.
According to German online news publication Deutsche Welle, West Africa’s recent surge in coups began in Mali in 2020, followed by another in Guinea the following year.
Last month Burkina Faso joined Guinea, Mali and Sudan in being shut out from the union, after disgruntled soldiers in the capital Ouagadougou toppled President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
Sudan has been under suspension since June 2019, when the country was banned from all AU activities until the effective establishment of a civilian-led transitional authority.
The African Union, which was founded in 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and launched in Durban, South Africa in 2002, succeeding the Organisation of African Union, has often been criticised for its inconsistent and slow responses to pressing issues across the continent.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa