West African leaders make demands after coups in the region

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE and BABA AHMED
Associated Press

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — West African leaders on Friday said they would uphold the regional sanctions imposed on Mali in January after its military leaders said they would stay in power for four more years instead of holding an election in February. The regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS made the decision during a summit in Ghana’s capital Accra, where they also discussed the situations in other coup affected member states including Burkina Faso and Guinea. The regional leaders  called for the immediate release of Burkina Faso’s former president Roch Marc Christian Kabore who has been under house arrest the military seized power in a coup in January. They also called on the junta leaders in Guinea to propose a transition in a month or face sanctions.