African Essence

Mali opposition dogged with demands despite ECOWAS mediation

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:37 pm

Five West African heads of state meeting in Bamako on Thursday failed to get the Malian opposition to accept their plan to get the country out of a political crisis.

The delegation however remain optimistic and will meet again on Monday at an extraordinary ECOWAS summit by videoconference.

Mahmoud Dicko, an influential Imam and leader of the opposition reiterated the stalemate: “Nothing has changed yet, we’ve been told nothing as far as I understand.

“I really wanted to say it very sincerely and I said it and I will say it again; we are a people that stand, we are not a submissive or resigned people.

“I would rather die a martyr’s death than a traitor’s death. The young people who lost their lives did not lose them for nothing. If they have really come together on this, I think that nothing has been done for the moment.”

Kalla Ankourao, Niger Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke about ECOWAS’ hope for resolution: “A group has not yet given its support, it was important that a higher step be taken … and we believe that by Monday the work will be fully completed.”

In office since 2013, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta has been massively challenged in the streets. Mali has been hit by a wave of protests that erupted last month.

The demonstrators are insisting that Keita resigns, saying he has failed to address jihadist violence, corruption and the country’s economic challenges.

The international community has been trying to defuse the crisis. Ecowas has ruled out removing the president from office saying any change of government must be through constitutional provisions.

(AFP)

Albert Echetah

Recent Posts

Africa 2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Everything You Need to Know

National teams from Africa advance their World Cup qualification pursuit as they take part in Matchday 5 of the qualifiers.…

March 21, 2025

Afreximbank’s $28,000 Prize Returns to Honor African Publishers

Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) is running the Book Factory Prize for Publishing in Africa again to award $28,000 to African…

March 21, 2025

Canada Boosts $37B Mining Investment in Africa with New Strategy

Canadian companies have expanded their presence as major African mining stakeholders and invested more than $37 billion. Africa holds the…

March 20, 2025

South Africa to Plant 1 Million Trees in a Single Day

The South African government wants people to plant one million trees across the nation within a single day on September…

March 20, 2025

South Africa’s Inflation Holds Steady as Central Bank Decision Looms

The government's statistics regulator showed that South African inflation stayed at 3.2% during February and rose below the projected 3.3%.…

March 19, 2025

Africa’s Energy Future Takes Center Stage at AEW 2025

Keywords: Cape Town, African Energy Chamber, Africa,  The 2025 African Energy Week (AEW) will host the top energy leaders from…

March 19, 2025