Closer talks between a West African delegation and military officers who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita earlier this week have entered into a second day.
Spearheaded by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, the delegation of the regional ECOWAS block met at military officers led by Colonel Assimi Goita behind closed doors for several hours on Sunday morning.
“The talks are going very well,” Jonathan told reporters as he exited for a while, without expanding.
A senior officer close to the coup leaders told the Reuters news agency that this morning’s discussion had focused on the sanctions that the bloc had imposed on Mali, who, among other things, stop trade and close borders, next coup of Tuesday.
Another officer said the delegation had made proposals that are being investigated.
The two sides also brought together briefly, about 20 minutes, on Saturday.
Keita’s overthrow, known as IBK, was welcomed by many in Mali, who were shocked by months of protests calling for his resignation amid widespread dissatisfaction over alleged corruption and tainted security in large parts of the country. where branches of al-Qaida and ISIL (ISIS) are active.
“For more than three hours, the junta and the ECOWAS delegation have been discussing the fate of President IBK and returning to a normal constitutional order,” a member of the delegation said on Sunday, speaking to AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.
Neighboring countries have called for Keita to be reinstated, saying the purpose of the visit by the delegation of the 15-member ECOWAS was to help “ensure the immediate restoration of constitutional order”.
Mali’s new military officials welcomed the visit, but did not talk about bringing Keita back to power.
Keita is being held in a military camp in the city of Kati outside the capital, Bamako. Jonathan met him on Saturday, saying the 75-year-old is “very fine”.
Keita took office after winning an election in 2013, presenting himself as a unifying figure and promising to tackle corruption. He was re-elected in 2018 for another term of five years, but failed to move forward against the conflict that has made large parts of the country ungovernable.
The violence, in which armed groups affiliated with al-Qaida and ISIL have created ethnic tensions while jockeys are in power, has spilled over into neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, destabilizing the wider Sahel region and causing a serious humanitarian crisis.
Regional leaders fear that violence may spread further into the generally more stable West African coastal countries if the political unrest creates further instability.
In recent months, opposition leaders have staged mass rallies to question Keita’s progress and his turnaround has prompted thousands of jubilant Malians to take to the streets of Bamako.
The interns said they had “completed the work of the Protestants” and promised to put in place a “transitional council”.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
