Mali’s Prime Minister Boubou Cisse on Friday apologized for the security forces that opened fire last week on anti-government protesters. However, he rejected the opposition’s demand of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s resignation, reported Reuters.
After staging several anti-government protests last month, the latest protest turned violent and deepened the political impasse. Last Friday, the people of Mali came out on the streets in large numbers in the capital Bamako to protest against President Keita. The mass protests turned violent, with security forces firing on protesters, some of whom had occupied state buildings.
The government confirmed that the violent clashes continued for several days, with at least 11 people killed in total.
“Unfortunately, there were excesses. What happened is very regrettable. We apologise for it,” Prime Minister Boubou Cisse told France 24 in a televised interview aired late on Thursday.
He added that the prosecutors had started an investigation into the violence.
The June 5 Movement, a coalition of religious, political and civil society leaders leading the protests, accuses Keita of failing to take measures to address violence by jihadist groups and ethnic militias, of mismanaging Mali’s economy and of enabling corruption.
The protest movement called out embattled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to quit on Friday, as international mediators tried to solve the crisis in the country.
According to a statement from the presidency, ECOWAS mediators met Keita on Friday. They also met influential imam Mahmoud Dicko, who is the de facto leader of the movement despite not being a formal member.
At a press conference in the capital Bamako, the June 5 Movement demanded that Mali’s parliament be dissolved, and called for a “republican transition” from the current government.
The move came during soaring political tensions in Mali, which a delegation from the 15-nation West African regional bloc ECOWAS is trying to calm.
