Ecowas leaders meet over Mali and Guinea BissauBy BABOUCARR CEESAY in Banjul | Thursday, April 26  2012 at  14:51

Gambian president Yahya Jammeh departed Banjul early Thursday for Cote d’Ivoire to attend the Ecowas heads of state and government summit on Guinea Bissau and Mali.

The situation in Mali and Guinea Bissau has for the past several months been the source of political and security headaches for the 15-member bloc.

Mali's growing democracy was marred by a military coup that ousted president Amadou Toumani Toure on March 22 for over his government’s inability to counter a Tuareg rebellion.

The incoming junta was however unable to block the rebels from capturing majoring towns in Mali’s north.

Ecowas members had earlier met in Abidjan on March 28 to pressurise the Mali junta by imposing sanctions meant to force the soldiers to accelerate the transfer of power to civilians, a decision which had the desired impact.

Hot on the heels of those developments came the Guinea Bissau coup, which was made worse by the junta’s controversial decision to appoint a ‘failed’ presidential candidate to take charge of a two-year transition administration.