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The prominent Malian opposition politician Soumaïla Cissé has died, according to his party. He died in Paris on Friday, said Demba Traoré, of the Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD) party, led by Cissé. The cause of death was not clear at first.
Cissé was kidnapped in March during the parliamentary election campaign in the West African country and recently released in October. Islamist terrorists are believed to be behind this. The opposition politician ran for president several times, most recently in 2018, but lost in the second round of voting. Among other things, he was Minister of Finance. For many years, Cissé was the strongest opponent of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, who was overthrown by the military in August this year.
Several armed groups are active in Mali, as well as in other countries in the Sahel region, some have pledged allegiance to terrorist groups Islamic State (IS) or Al Qaeda. An EU mission to train the armed forces and a UN military mission, in which Austria also participates, are active in the country.
