West Africa leaders lift sanctions on military-led neighbors

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE
Associated Press

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — West African leaders attending a regional summit Sunday lifted sanctions against three neighbors led by military regimes now promising a return to democratic rule. The summit of the Economic Community of West African States resolved to lift all economic and financial sanctions imposed on Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, although those countries remain suspended from the regional bloc, said Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, an Ivorian politician who has been serving as president of the ECOWAS Commission. The three nations’ suspension from ECOWAS will remain in force until elections are held, he told reporters, adding that regional leaders are urging development partners to resume assistance to them.