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Mali president names diplomat Moctar Ouane as interim prime minister

Mali president names diplomat Moctar Ouane as interim prime minister

FORMER foreign minister Moctar Ouane was named as Mali's interim prime minister, state television said, a move likely to trigger the lifting of sanctions imposed by the West Africa regional bloc in the aftermath of the military coup last month. A veteran diplomat, Ouane, 64, served as Mali's ambassador to the United Nations in 1995-2002, and as foreign minister in 2004-2011. The bloc had demanded a civilian leader be installed as a condition for lifting the sanctions. Ouane's appointment comes two days after retired colonel Bah Ndaw was sworn in as the country's president, and coup-leader Colonel Assimi Goita as…
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Rowdy protests get Mali transition talks off to chaotic start

Rowdy protests get Mali transition talks off to chaotic start

TALKS in Mali about a transition back to civilian rule following last month's military coup got off to a chaotic start on Saturday as opponents of the deposed president accused the ruling junta of excluding them from some of the negotiations. Hundreds of representatives from the junta, political parties and civil society groups attended the start of talks in the capital Bamako which are meant to chart a path forward after the August 18 coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The military takeover was welcomed by many Malians, tired of violence by Islamist and ethnic militias and alleged high-level…
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Sudan’s Bashir appears at trial over 1989 coup

Sudan’s Bashir appears at trial over 1989 coup

OUSTED Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir appeared in court on Tuesday at the start of a trial over the military coup in which he took power in 1989. Giving his profession as “former president of the republic”, Bashir seemed in good physical condition as he appeared in a metal courtroom cage wearing white prison-issue clothes and a medical face mask that he lowered to identify himself. In footage carried by Sudanese state TV he said he was resident in Khartoum’s Kober prison, 76 years old, and had two wives. Some of Bashir’s former associates appeared alongside him at the trial, which…
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Mali junta frees ousted president Keita ahead of regional summit

Mali junta frees ousted president Keita ahead of regional summit

TIEMOKO DIALLO and DAVID LEWIS  COUP leaders in Mali have released President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and he has returned home, his representative said on Thursday, a potential sign of good faith a day ahead of a regional summit on the country's political future. A group of military officers has controlled Mali since Aug. 18, when they detained Keita at gunpoint and forced him to resign in a takeover foreign powers fear could further destabilise the West African nation and undermine a fight against Islamist militants in the wider Sahel region. Keita's release, nine days after he was ousted and detained,…
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EU freezes Mali training missions after military coup, denies responsibility

EU freezes Mali training missions after military coup, denies responsibility

ROBIN EMMOTT and TIEMOKO DIALLO THE European Union has suspended training in Mali after the military coup this month that removed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita from power, officials said on Wednesday, while Germany acknowledged that some perpetrators had been trained in Europe. The two missions assisting Mali's army and police are part of international efforts to stabilise Mali and extend the state's authority, but the EU is facing questions about whether it inadvertently helped train the coup plotters. "It is known that some of the leading figures of the coup d'etat have also enjoyed training in Germany and France," German…
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Mali mediation talks “going  very well”

Mali mediation talks “going very well”

TALKS between Mali's military junta and mediators from West Africa's regional bloc continue in Bamako in an ongoing effort to return the country to civilian rule. The delegation from the Economic Community of West African States, led by Nigeria's former president Goodluck Jonathan, met junta leaders led by Colonel Assimi Goita behind closed doors for several hours on Sunday morning, before adjourning for lunch. A senior officer close to the junta told Reuters that the morning's discussion had focused on the bloc's sanctions on Mali following the military coup. The two sides also met briefly, for about 20 minutes on…
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Mali’s predictable coup leaves an unclear path to civilian rule

Mali’s predictable coup leaves an unclear path to civilian rule

BRUCE WHITEHOUSE, Associate Professor, Lehigh University SOLDIERS have ousted Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta who has now resigned, alongside the country’s prime minister. Moina Spooner from The Conversation Africa asked Bruce Whitehouse, who has carried out studies on coups and violent extremism in Mali, to share his thoughts on what brought on this coup, and what needs to happen next to ensure stability in the country. What laid the ground for the recent coup in Mali and who led it? There are many long-term factors, but the immediate reason for the coup was Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta’s dismal performance as president.…
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Mali protest leader steps back as coup leaders promise election

Mali protest leader steps back as coup leaders promise election

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

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

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…
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Sudan adjourns trial against Bashir and allies

Sudan adjourns trial against Bashir and allies

KHALED ABDELAZIZ OUSTED Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and some of his former allies went on trial on Tuesday on charges of leading a military coup that brought the autocrat to power in 1989. A Sudanese court had already handed Bashir a two-year sentence in December on corruption charges. He also faces trials and investigations over the killing of protesters. State TV broadcast the judge opening the hearing at a court in Khartoum without showing footage of Bashir, who has been jailed since he was toppled in April last year following mass protests against his 30-year rule. In December, his lawyer…
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