African leaders meeting at the African Union (AU) summit condemnedunequivocal“the recent”waveof coups on the continent, said Sunday the commissioner in charge of political affairs, peace and security of the pan-African organization.
Read alsoAfter Mali and Guinea, Burkina Faso in turn targeted by a coup
“Every African leader in the assembly unequivocally condemned the pattern, the resurgence, the cycle, the wave of unconstitutional changes of governmentBankole Adeoye said at a press conference during the AU summit, which runs until Sunday evening in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The AU “will not tolerate any military coup in any form“, he added, recalling that the countries that have faced putsches have been suspended by the AU Peace and Security Council.
Read alsoFour maps to understand the French situation in Mali
“Do your research, at no time in the history of the African Union have we had four countries in one calendar year, in 12 months, suspended: Mali, Guinea, Sudan and Burkina Faso“, he added.
Referring to the case of West Africa, he considered that the “Sahel must not become a home againof unconstitutional changes of government, described asscourge“.
In his opening speech at the summit on Saturday, the chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, spoke of the “fatal waveof coups d’etat and underlined “known causal linkswith the development of terrorism.
The AU, on the other hand, chose not to show its dissension on the highly sensitive subject of Israel’s accreditation. This decision taken in July by Moussa Faki divides the organization. Several member states, including South Africa and Algeria, have risen up, believing that this choice goes against the declarations of the organization supporting the Palestinian Territories.
The two countries lobbied to put this topic on the summit agenda. A debate was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. He has been “suspended”, diplomatic sources told AFP, and a committee will be created “to study the matter”. This committee will include South Africa and Algeria but also Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which support Faki’s decision, as well as Cameroon and Nigeria, according to the diplomats interviewed.
The postponement avoids the possibility of a vote that many analysts say could have caused a split unprecedented in the history of the AU, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.