Mali: Military Wants Three-Year Rule, Agrees To Release Keita

The military which seized power in Mali wants to rule the country for three years, the junta has also agreed to release Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The development was revealed by a source in a visiting West African delegation and the rebel soldiers on Sunday.

Recall that the military reportedly forced the President to dissolve his cabinet and resign after months of protest by Malians.

“The junta has affirmed that it wants a three-year transition to review the foundations of the Malian state. This transition will be directed by a body led by a soldier, who will also be head of state,” a source in the ECOWAS delegation told Nigeria News after talks with the junta.

“The government will also be predominantly composed of soldiers” under the proposal, the source said on condition of anonymity.

A junta official confirmed to Nigeria News that “the three-year transition would have a military president and a government mostly composed of soldiers”.

The source and the official added that the soldiers have agreed to free Keita, detained along with other political leaders since the coup on Tuesday, and he would be able to return to his home in the capital Bamako.

“And if he wants to travel abroad for (medical) treatment, that is not a problem,” said the source from ECOWAS, which stands for the Economic Community of West African States.

Prime minister Boubou Cisse, who has been held with Keita at a military base outside the capital where the coup began, would be moved to a secure residence in the city.

While the coup was met with international condemnation, thousands of opposition supporters celebrated the president’s ouster in the streets of Bamako.