Newsie Events:-
Mali President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been forced out of the Office as he finally tendered his resignation on Wednesday, August 19, amid political unrest in the country, hours after his arrest.
Recall that the political imbroglio that polarised Mali hit the climax on Tuesday, August 18, as prime minister, Boubou Cisse, and President Keita were arrested by some mutinying soldiers.
The mutineers later informed journalists on Tuesday that Cisse and Keita are with them in Bamako, Mali’s capital. However, another military source claimed the president and the prime minister have been taken to a key base in Kati, a town close to Bamako.
In the early hours of Wednesday, President Keita said he has resigned from his position in order to avoid bloodshed and violence between his loyalists and the opposition.
Aljazeera reported that Keita said that he has decided “to give up my duty from now on.”
“Today, certain parts of the military have decided that intervention was necessary. Do I really have a choice? Because I do not wish blood to be shed,” Keita said on Wednesday morning.
While the military is expected to address the nation on Wednesday, It is not clear yet If the country will be ruled by the military or there will be a fresh election among political parties in the West African Country.
In the meantime, European nations have condemned the development that saw the military take over. The political tension in Mali, prior to the coup-like development, was a point of concern for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Furthermore, on Tuesday, former Goodluck Jonathan had been meeting with President Buhari at the State House, Abuja as both leaders try to fathom out a way out of the ongoing political crisis bedeviling the country. Jonathan was said to have arrived at the State House with members of the team on a mission to Mali.
This is not the first time both leaders will meet over the present political imbroglio that has polarised Mali. On Thursday, July 23, President Buhari and Jonathan traveled to the capital city, Bamako, amid heightened efforts towards the crisis in the West African country.
President of Ghana Nana Akuffo-Addo and Mahamadou Issoufou, president of the Republic of Niger, president of Senegal Macky Sall and president of Cote d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara, was also at the crucial meeting.
Jonathan, who is a member of the special envoy constituted by the West Africa bloc ECOWAS, had made a surprise visit to the Sahel on Tuesday, August 11, on the eve of opposition-led demonstrations against embattled President Keita.