By Jacob Kubeka (ABUJA) –
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria Friday in Abuja called on the actors in the political crisis in Mali to come together for the peace and unity of the country.
Buhari spoke when he received in audience former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who is Special Envoy and ECOWAS mediator to the West African country.
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Femi Adesina, in a statement, quoted the Nigerian President as saying “a situation where most parts of the country are in the hands of insurgents calls for a consensus and restoration of peace, not a further escalation of the crisis.”
Former President Goodluck had briefed the President on the current situation in Mali after meeting with the key political actors ahead of the meeting of ECOWAS leaders under the Chairmanship of President Nana Akufo-Addo of the Republic of Ghana.
He added that the meeting of the regional leaders was necessary to urgently find an acceptable solution to the current impasse in the West African nation.
Mali has continued to face political crisis almost nine months after President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was overthrown by the military.
Malian army officers angry with a government reshuffle have detained President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, who were appointed in September under international pressure with the task of steering the country back to full civilian rule in the wake of an August 2020 coup.
Colonel Assimi Goita, the leader of last year’s power grab and vice president of the interim government, accused the pair of violating the transitional charter and said elections will take place next year as planned.
With the West African nation facing yet another political crisis nine months after the overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, here is a timeline of all the major political developments in the country:
In the early hours of August 18, after months of anti-government protests, mutinous soldiers take up arms at a key base in Kati, a garrison town some 15km (nine miles) from the capital, Bamako, while armoured tanks and military vehicles are seen on the streets.
A few hours later, Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse are detained by military officers, in a dramatic escalation of the country’s months-long crisis.
At around midnight, Keita, whose term was set to expire in 2023, announces that he is resigning from his post, saying he does not wish blood to be shed.
In the early hours of August 19, the military officers who overthrew Keita pledged to restore stability and oversee a transitional period until elections are held within a “reasonable” timeframe. The coup makers, who call themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), also say that “a transitional president” will be appointed either from civilian or military ranks.
The coup, however, is widely condemned by the international community, with the main regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), suspending Mali from its institutions, shutting borders and halting financial flows with the country.
(With additional report by aljazeera)
