ECOWAS Faces Pressure to Impose Sanctions if Demands Aren’t Met
Guinea’s coup leaders have laid out specific conditions for the release of ousted President Alpha Conde, as pressure mounts from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for his immediate freedom. Ghanaian Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway indicated that these conditions will be reviewed at an ECOWAS meeting on Thursday, during which the regional bloc may also consider sanctions against the Guinean junta if its demands are not met.
The ECOWAS delegation that visited Conakry after the September 5 coup will present findings from their discussions with the junta. Although the specifics of the conditions set by the coup leaders were not disclosed, Botchway noted that Conde, detained since his government was overthrown, is in good physical health but remains in “a state of shock” over the upheaval. The foreign minister’s comments highlighted the former president’s emotional adjustment after his sudden removal from power after over a decade.