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Reuters
Malian officials announced that former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was ousted from power by the military last August, has traveled to the United Arab Emirates for treatment.
Military officials stated that he had traveled for medical treatment in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi after suffering a minor stroke earlier in the week.
An official told Reuters that Keita left Bamako on Saturday night on a plane chartered by the United Arab Emirates at the request of Mali’s ruling military council.
He added that he can stay abroad for up to fifteen days.
Keita, 75, was admitted to a hospital in the capital Bamako on Tuesday, six days after his release by the ruling military council.
Keita’s medical condition is unclear – a benign tumor was removed from his neck in 2016.
Meanwhile, Mali’s new military rulers started talks in the capital, Bamako, with opposition groups and civil society about the change to a civilian government. They said they would resign from power in two years.
Talks about shaping the transition period began on Saturday between hundreds of representatives from the military council, political parties and civil society groups.
But less than an hour after its inception, supporters of an opposition coalition, which led mass demonstrations against Keita before his ouster, came out in further protests, accusing the ruling military group of excluding them from most working groups.
The talks, which are also taking place in Mali’s regional capitals, will continue on Sunday and then resume at the end of next week.
