Mali’s military that seized power by ousting President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita wants a military-led transitional body to rule the country for three years and has agreed to release Keita, an ECOWAS source said on Sunday, reported Al Jazeera.
The coup followed months of anti-government protests demanding the resignation of Keita. The protestors’ discontent with the government grew over the Islamist insurgency and collapsing economy. The rebel soldiers arrested Malian President Keita at gunpoint. He resigned and dissolved the parliament just hours after being taken under the rebel soldiers’ custody.
An ECOWAS delegation arrived in Mali’s capital, Bamako, on Saturday for talks aimed at reversing the overthrow of Keita.
“The junta has affirmed that it wants a three-year transition to review the foundations of the Malian state. This transition will be directed by a body led by a soldier, who will also be head of state,” a source in the ECOWAS delegation in capital Bamako told the AFP news agency.
“The government will also be predominantly composed of soldiers” under the military government’s proposal, the source said on condition of anonymity.
The source added that the junta has agreed to free President Keita, who has been detained along with other political leaders since the coup last week, and he will be able to return to his home in Bamako.
“And if he wants to travel abroad for treatment, that is not a problem,” the ECOWAS source said.
The source added that Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, who was also detained along with Keita at a military base outside the capital where the coup began, would be moved to a secure residence in the city.
While the coup was met by international condemnation, thousands of opposition supporters came out on the streets to celebrate the president’s ouster in the streets of Bamako.
The Mali junta has assured to held elections in the country within a reasonable time.
