The President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, resigned on Tuesday, August 17, 2020, after being taken into custody by military officials in what appeared to be a successful coup. This move comes after several weeks of protests by Malian citizens demanding the resignation of the president over corruption, economic instability and the failure of the administration to end the extremist insurgency that has engulfed the West African country.
“I want no blood to be spilt to keep me in power. I have decided to step down from office,” he said in a televised address. The prime minister, Boubou Cissé, who was arrested along with Keita, the entire members of the Mali cabinet and other members of the national assembly have resigned as well.
Mr Keita has been president of Mali since 2013 and had previously served as prime minister between 1994 and 2000.
Mutinying soldiers who captured the president have said they will enact a transitional government and hold elections at a reasonable time.
“We are not holding on to power but we are holding on to the stability of the country. With you, standing as one, we can restore this country to its former greatness,” said Ismail Wague, deputy chief of staff of Mali’s Air Force.
He also invited members of civil society to corroborate efforts towards a credible election and civil political transition. Military leaders have also ordered the closure of all border crossings until further notice and have imposed a night-time curfew between 9 pm and 5 am.
This is not the first time Mali is facing a coup. In 2012, mutinying soldiers attacked several locations in the capital city, Bamako saying they had formed the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State, forcing the president at the time, Amadou Toumani Toure, into hiding. The coup only lasted for few weeks but strengthened the hold of Tuareg forces in northern Mali and gave way to the al-Qaeda-linked militant groups that have taken over the same region.
The people of Mali hold no bars against the move by the soldiers as they cheered on after the president’s arrest in the capital. The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the situation on Wednesday.
