President resigns, West African country plunges into crisis
The West African nation of Mali is sinking deeper into crisis after the country's president was arrested by the military and forced to resign on August 18.
Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned on August 18 and dissolved Parliament hours after rebels seized him at gunpoint, leaving Mali facing an Islamist insurgency and mass protests as it plunges deeper into crisis.
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| Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned on August 18. Photo: Reuters |
President Keita announced his resignation in a brief televised address after the military detained him along with Prime Minister Boubou Cisse and other senior officials.
“If today, elements of our armed forces want this to end their intervention, do I really have a choice?”, the Malian president said at the military base in Kati outside the capital Bamako, where he was arrested earlier in the day.
It remains unclear who is leading the uprising, who will run the country after Mr Keita steps down, and what the rebels want.
Images posted on social media earlier said to be taken in Kati showed Mr Keita and Mr Cisse surrounded by armed soldiers.
Mali has seen months of protests said to be against corruption and security in the West African country, and calls for Mr Keita to step down.
The M5-RFP alliance behind the protests has expressed support for the actions of the rebels. Its spokesman, Nouhoum Togo, said this was "not a military coup but a popular uprising"./.