ECOWAS asks Burkina Faso junta for election date proposal

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE
Associated Press

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — West African regional leaders aren’t imposing sanctions just yet against the new military junta in Burkina Faso. Instead the regional bloc known as ECOWAS asked Thursday that the new rulers propose a firm date for returning the country to democratic rule. While ECOWAS had called the meeting to discuss Burkina Faso, the spate of military power grabs and coup attempts throughout the region weighed heavily at the gathering in Ghana’s capital. Three of the 15 countries in the bloc are currently suspended because of military power grabs: Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. And then earlier this week, security forces quelled a coup attempt in Guinea-Bissau too.