Tag Archives: ECOWAS

Bissau, Guinea-Bissau | AFP | A West African trade bloc has given Guinea-Bissau’s “illegal government” named by President Jose Mario Vaz a 48-hour ultimatum to resign or face sanctions, a representative said Wednesday, amid a tense standoff between the country’s leader and sacked ministers. Vaz, appointed as president in 2014, has …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Ivory Coast ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, the first former head of state to go on trial before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, was ordered freed by the court on Friday. The court agreed to his release following his acquittal last month on charges of …

Lome, Togo | AFP | Guinea-Bissau’s President Jose Mario Vaz has nominated another new prime minister, the West African bloc said on Saturday, after talks aimed at ending years of political crisis. The Economic Community of West African States said Vaz had nominated Aristide Gomes as “prime minister of consensus” …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | The West African bloc ECOWAS declared itself “satisfied” with Sierra Leone’s run-off presidential vote, as vote counting continued Sunday, while noting intimidating levels of security at some polling stations. The second round vote pitted challenger Julius Maada Bio of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s …

Lome, Togo | AFP | Protesters again took to the streets of Togo’s capital Lome on Saturday to demonstrate against the rule of President Faure Gnassingbe, who was in Nigeria chairing a summit of West African leaders. Anti-government marches have been held across the country nearly every week since August, attracting …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | West African leaders on Saturday threatened to slap Guinea-Bissau with sanctions unless the country’s grinding political crisis was resolved within two months. In a summit in Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it was “disappointed with the absence of progress in …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma unlawfully dismissed his vice president after he was expelled from the ruling party, a West African regional court said on Monday. Samuel Sam-Sumana was kicked out of the All People’s Congress (APC) in March 2015 on suspicion of fomenting violence, …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The head of a West African force maintaining security in The Gambia told AFP Friday that army officials loyal to veteran former leader Yahya Jammeh were plotting against the new government. West African troops were first sent to The Gambia in January to compel Jammeh to …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP |  The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it has extended the mandate of its military mission in The Gambia. The force, consisting mainly of soldiers from neighbouring Senegal, was first sent to the small country in January to compel longstanding president Yahya Jammeh …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  A Gambian protester died of gunshot wounds Saturday, the day after being shot as supporters of former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh clashed with West African forces. Gambian information minister, Demba Ali Jawo, told AFP that a group of people had protested on Friday in Jammeh’s …