United Nations envoy is in Burkina Faso on a “good offices mission’’ in the wake of the military coup last Sunday. The visit by Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, was announced on Friday just hours after regional bloc ECOWAS suspended the country from its membership.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, continues to follow developments in Burkina Faso, his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, told journalists in New York.
Appeal for calm
“The Secretary-General continues to call for calm, the release of President Kaboré and other officials that have been detained as well as for a return to constitutional order in Burkina Faso’’, he said.
According to him, Guterres, continues to closely follow the situation in Burkina Faso. He takes note of the suspension of Burkina Faso from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as its decision to deploy a mission of the regional Chiefs of Defense staff to the country tomorrow, followed by a Ministerial delegation next week.
Annadif will also join the Ministerial mission along with the President of the ECOWAS Commission and the Foreign Minister of Ghana. This will take place ahead of a planned ECOWAS Summit in Accra, Ghana on February 3, to further discuss the situation in the country as Guterres continues to call for calm, the release of President Kaboré and other officials that have been detained as well as for a return to constitutional order in Burkina Faso.
Earlier, Annadif took part in the special virtual summit on Burkina Faso, organized by ECOWAS.
In a Tweet, he said that in his remarks at the summit, he had reiterated our condemnation of unconstitutional changes of power and called for a swift and unconditional return to constitutional order in Burkina Faso.
Guterres has, however, taken note of the ECOWAS decision, and its plans to deploy a mission of regional chiefs of staff to Burkina Faso on Saturday, followed by a Ministerial delegation next week.
Annadif will also join the Ministerial mission along with the President of the ECOWAS Commission and the Foreign Minister of Ghana.
On Friday, Annadif, took part in the special virtual summit on the crisis, organized by the 15-member bloc. He reiterated the UN condemnation of unconstitutional changes of power and called for a swift and unconditional return to constitutional order, according to a tweet from his office.
