West African leaders decided at the conclusion of an emergency summit they held Thursday night in New York to impose “gradual sanctions” on the ruling military junta in Guinea for its refusal to quickly return power to civilians.

“The time for coups is over,” said Omar Aliu Torey, head of the Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS).

In their summit decisions, West African leaders condemned “the arrest of the Ivorian military, and on Tuesday, September 27, ECOWAS will send the presidents of Ghana, Togo and Senegal to Mali to secure their release.”

At the summit, it was agreed that “the very rapidly changing President of ECOWAS and the head of the ECOWAS Commission will prepare a list of individuals against whom sanctions will be imposed and, gradually, the application of these sanctions.”

Guinea has been led by a military council led by Colonel Mamady Domboya since the coup that ousted President Alpha Condé in September 2021. Guinea’s ruling military council has pledged to hand over power to elected civilians after a three-year transition period, saying it intends during the transition period to “rebuild the state”, develop a new constitution and fight corruption, carry out electoral reform, organize elections and reconcile divided Guineans.