EU to blacklist five members of Mali's junta, diplomats say

FILE PHOTO: Colonel Assimi Goita, leader of two military coups and new interim president, walks during his inauguration ceremony in Bamako, Mali June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Amadou Keita/File Photo

BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - The European Union has agreed to impose travel bans and asset freezes on five members of Mali's junta after the military rulers went back on an agreement to organise elections in February, three diplomats said.

The measures, which have political support of all 27 EU governments and should take effect later this month, follow a raft of restrictions against Mali by the ECOWAS grouping of West African states that has condemned the transitional military government's attempts to extend its rule.