In a tweet on Monday, the African Union announced that Burkina Faso has been suspended until constitutional order is restored in the West African country.
An apparent coup in Burkina Faso removed democratically elected President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and cited his inability to halt jihadi violence as the reason for the suspension.
Burkina Faso was already suspended last week by the 15-nation group of the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS), making it the third one in ECOWAS to suffer a punishment for military takeovers within a year and a half. According to officials, the suspensions prevent the countries from participating in any meetings or decisions.
According to the U.N., there are no sanctions against Burkina Faso, however a delegation of ECOWAS officials and Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, visited the capital, Ouagadougou, on Monday to assess the situation.
The ECOWAS summit is scheduled for Thursday in Ghana, and it will discuss the situations in Burkina Faso and Mali. Burkina Faso and Mali, which are being sanctioned harshly after their coup leader failed to hold elections within 18 months, are also under harsh economic and travel restrictions.
As a result of the arrival of a West African military delegation, the new Burkinabe junta leader, Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba and ECOWAS began talks Saturday.
Judta officials have said Kabore has failed to adequately address the violence in Burkina Faso, which has resulted in the death of thousands and displacement of 1.5 million people.
During his first address to the nation since taking power, Damiba promised to restore order and security and unite the country, but warned that betrayal would not be tolerated.
