West Africa bloc threatens more sanctions against Mali junta

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — West Africa’s regional bloc is threatening further sanctions against Mali if the country fails to make “concrete progress” toward holding democratic elections in February. The new warning came Sunday after leaders from the bloc known as ECOWAS held a summit in Nigeria’s capital. The new sanctions would go into effect on Jan. 1. Mali’s junta has said that election delays are partly because of ongoing violence. The country has been battling an Islamic insurgency for nearly a decade and security concerns have grown since France announced that it plans to withdraw 2,000 troops from the region by early next year.