The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has lifted economic and travel sanctions on Niger Republic, Mali, and Burkina Faso.

ECOWAS announced this at its Authority of Heads of State and Government extraordinary summit on the political, peace, and security situation in the region at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Saturday, February 24, 2024.

Announcing the authority’s resolutions, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, said the suspension of the sanctions was with immediate effect.

Touray said ECOWAS has suspended the closure of the land and air border to Niger Republic, a no-fly zone of all commercial flights.

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He added that the body has also suspended the freezing of all financial transactions between ECOWAS states and Niger, including transactions relating to the bloc’s central bank and the unfreezing of all of Niger’s assets at EBID.

According to him, ECOWAS also lifted the travel ban on members of the military junta and their families, adding that the move was “based on humanitarian considerations due to lent and the approaching month of Ramadan”.

The authority also lifted sanctions on the election of Mali citizens to ECOWAS positions.

It also lifted sanctions on Guinea, inviting all four countries to attend technical consultative meetings of ECOWAS going forward.

ECOWAS also asked its withdrawing member states to reconsider their decision over the benefits enjoyed by their citizens.

The Star