Malian coup troops pledge to organise new elections
THE Malian soldiers who forced President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign in a coup have promised to organise new elections after their takeover was condemned by the international community.
In a statement carried by state broadcaster ORTM, the soldiers who staged Tuesday’s military coup identified themselves as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, led by Colonel-Major Ismael Wague.
“With you, standing as one, we can restore this country to its former greatness,” he said, announcing that borders were closed and that a curfew was going into effect from 9pm until 5am.
The news of Mr Keita’s departure was met with jubilation by anti-government demonstrators in the capital, Bamako, and alarm by former colonial ruler France and other allies and foreign nations.
The UN Security Council scheduled a closed meeting yesterday to discuss the situation in Mali, where the UN has a 15,600-strong peacekeeping mission.
The West African regional bloc Ecowas said it was sending a highlevel delegation to “ensure immediate return to constitutional order”.
Ecowas had previously sent mediators to try to negotiate a unity government but those talks fell apart when it became clear that the protesters would not accept less than Mr Keita’s resignation.
The bloc condemned the overthrow of Mr Keita, denied “any kind of legitimacy to the putschists”, and demanded sanctions against those who staged the coup and their partners and collaborators.
In its statement, Ecowas also said it would stop all economic, trade and financial flows and transactions between Ecowas states and Mali.