Demonstrators had taken to the streets by the thousands in Mali’s capital city in recent weeks, protesting government corruption and the rise of extremism.
The president of Mali resigned Tuesday, making the announcement just hours after he was forcibly taken into custody by a group of mutinous soldiers. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta had been in power for seven years and had faced mounting pressure amid an Islamist insurgency on top of an economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in the nation’s capital in recent weeks to protest government corruption, accusing Keïta of keeping the nation from prosperity. “I do not wish for blood to be shed anymore so I can maintain power,” Keïta said. “I have decided to quit my duties.” Fellow West African leaders, along with the African Union Commission and the United Nations, condemned the military coup earlier Tuesday. Members of the military also detained the National Assembly president and the finance minister during the course of the day.
