EU-AU summit: Ghana’s Akufo-Addo calls for 12-month transition in Mali

In a interview with FRANCE 24 at the EU-African Union summit in Brussels, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo said the French-led troop withdrawal from Mali required « new arrangements » in the regional fight against terrorism. Akufo-Addo, who is also the current chairman of West African bloc ECOWAS, demanded the departure of « foreign mercenaries » from the region and explained that negotiations are underway with the Malian junta on an election timetable. He called the junta’s proposal of a four-year transition « clearly unacceptable » and said a 12-month transition period would be « an acceptable framework », while stressing that this was not official ECOWAS position.