EU to blacklist five members of Mali’s junta, diplomats say – EURACTIV.com

The European Union has agreed to impose travel bans and asset freezes on five members of Mali’s junta after the military rulers went back on an agreement to organise elections in February, three diplomats said.

The measures, which have political support of all 27 EU governments and should take effect later this month, follow a raft of restrictions against Mali by the ECOWAS grouping of West African states that has condemned the transitional military government’s attempts to extend its rule.

The bloc is struggling to stabilise the broader Sahel region after a series of coups  in Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso, despite military support, high-level political attention and development aid. As Islamist militants grow in strength, local sentiment has hardened against European involvement.

The names of the five individuals to be sanctioned were not immediately available. The diplomats said they were junta officials also targeted by ECOWAS. Mali’s foreign and defence ministers will not be targeted in order to keep diplomatic channels open, the diplomats said.