African Union reaffirms suspension of Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Sudan

 The African Union announced on Sunday that Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Sudan will remain suspended from the pan-African organization following the summit in Ethiopia.

Mali, Guinea and Sudan were suspended in 2021, Burkina Faso followed a year later, after the military took power.

Speaking after the summit, the head of the AU's Peace and Security Council, Bankole Adeoye, "reaffirmed zero tolerance against unconstitutional changes of government", adding that it is ready to help the four countries "return to constitutional order".

On Saturday, member countries of ECOWAS also decided to maintain the suspension of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea and impose travel bans on government officials and representatives.

The three countries had asked on 10 February for the lifting of their suspension from ECOWAS, but also from the AU, deploring the "sanctions imposed".