Colonel Ismael Wague - The African Mirror

Aug

2020

Mali talks end with no decision on transitional government

TIEMOKO DIALLO and CHEICK DOUARA TALKS between West African mediators and Mali's military coup leaders have ended after three days of discussions without any decision on the make-up of a transitional government, a junta spokesman said. West Africa's regional bloc dispatched negotiators to Mali at the weekend in a bid to reverse President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's removal from power last week. But talks had focused on who would lead Mali and for how long, rather than the possibility of reinstating the president, diplomats said. The coup has raised the prospects of further political turmoil in Mali which, like other countries…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Some agreement, but issues remain as West African mediators meet Mali coup leaders

NEWS

TIEMOKO DIALLO MEDIATORS from West Africa's regional bloc reached agreement on certain points in talks with Mali's military junta that are aimed at returning the country to civilian rule, the parties said on Sunday, adding that some outstanding issues remained. The negotiations continue today, members of both delegations told journalists in Bamako. Leaders of the military junta led by Colonel Assimi Goita and mediators from West Africa's regional bloc led by Nigeria's former president, Goodluck Jonathan, met behind closed doors all day on Sunday. "We have been able to agree on a number of points but not yet on all…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Mali protest leader steps back as coup leaders promise election

NEWS

TIEMOKOK DIALLO ONE of Mali's most influential power brokers, Mahmoud Dicko, will withdraw from politics, his spokesman said, after a meeting with leaders of a military coup who have promised to oversee elections within a "reasonable" time. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned and dissolved parliament on Tuesday after the mutineers detained him at gunpoint, further rocking a country that is in the grip of a jihadist insurgency and civil unrest. Fearing Keita's fall after nearly seven years in power could destabilise the Sahel region, the African Union and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) both suspended Mali. The mood…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

African Union condemns Mali coup, suspends country’s membership until ousted president is reinstated

NEWS

AFRICAN Union has suspended Mali's membership and its chair and South African President has strongly condemned the bloodless military coup in Mali and called on the soldiers to restore civilian power. Ramaphosa labeled the army’s action, which came after weeks of protests and was celebrated by Malians, as unconstitutional. Malian soldiers took power after they forced President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his cabinet and Parliament to resign. Ramaphosa demanded the release, from detention, of Keita, the prime minister, cabinet ministers and other government executives. He also called for an end to military rule and said the soldiers must immediately return…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Mali soldiers promise civilian transition after bloodless coup

NEWS

SOLDIERS who staged a military coup in Mali leading to the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his government say they plan to form a civilian transitional government that will organise fresh elections. Keita resigned and dissolved parliament late on Tuesday hours after mutinying soldiers detained him at gunpoint, plunging a country already facing a jihadist insurgency and mass protests deeper into crisis. In a statement broadcast on state-owned television early on Wednesday, a spokesman for the mutineers calling themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People said they had decided to act to prevent Mali from…