W. African regional bloc suspends Burkina Faso after coup

West African neighbour states have suspended Burkina Faso in the aftermath of this week's coup, making it the third nation in the regional bloc to be punished for a military takeover in only 18 months, officials said.

The announcement Friday from the bloc known as ECOWAS came several days after more than a dozen mutinous soldiers went on state television in Burkina Faso to announce their military takeover of the country — that's under siege from Islamic extremist attacks. ECOWAS had suspended neighbouring Mali after a coup there in August 2020 and then took similar action against Guinea after the president was overthrown last September.