By Joe Bavier
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - The West African regional bloc ECOWAS said on Thursday it would send troops to Mali and Guinea-Bissau to help swiftly reinstate civilian rule after their coups, and threatened sanctions if junta leaders try to cling to power.
The decision was one of the most forceful moves by the group in recent years, and won the immediate support of the European Union as a way to reinforce democratic reform in a part of the world known for military coups and civil wars.
"Overall, we're very supportive of ECOWAS's strong response to the situation in both countries. It's a response that is shared by the international community," said Nick Westcott, EU Managing Director for Africa.
Soldiers in Mali, a country once viewed as a poster-child of democracy in Africa, overthrew the government in March, while the army of the tiny coastal nation of Guinea-Bissau seized power and derailed elections with a putsch on April 12.
ECOWAS said it expected both Mali and Guinea-Bissau to hold presidential elections within 12 months, according to a statement issued after a meeting of heads of state in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan.
It called on junta leaders to release people detained during the coups and ensure the safety of ousted officials, and threatened sanctions, ranging from targeted individual measures to economic action, if its conditions were not met.
"The heads of state and of government decided to take all the necessary measures in order to assist Mali in the re-establishment of its unity and of its territorial integrity," said the statement, read to ECOWAS officials and journalists late on Thursday.
"To this effect the heads of state and of government instructed the commission to begin with immediate effect the deployment of the standby force of ECOWAS conforming to the approved mandate." ? Continued...
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