Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned and dissolved his government and parliament on early Wednesday after being detained by soldiers on Tuesday in a sudden coup that followed a months-long political crisis in the country, reported BBC News.
“I want no blood to be spilled to keep me in power,” Mr. Keita said in a televised address.
The resignation comes just hours after he and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse were seized by rebel soldiers.
Keita, who was democratically elected in 2013 and reelected five years later, had no other choice but to resign after soldiers took him to military barracks in Mali’s Kati, on the outskirts of the capital, Bamako.
“If today, certain elements of our armed forces want this to end through their intervention, do I really have a choice?” the Mali president said. “I hold no hatred towards anyone, my love of my country does not allow me to. May God save us.”
The West African nation has been witnessing mass protests from the last few months with the protesters demanding Keita’s resignation.
While the protests started over discontent with his refusal to raise wages for teachers and doctors, they later widened to include criticism over alleged corruption and nepotism within the administration. There has been anger among the people over corruption, the mismanagement of the economy, and the rise of communal violence in areas of the country.
The Economic Community of West African States’ efforts to mediate between the government and protesters had so far failed.
Tuesday’s act was strongly condemned by the African Union, ECOWAS, the United Nations, the United States and France. The 15-nation-bloc also announced sanctions that included closing borders and the suspension of trade.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded the immediate of Keita and Cisse and called for the Security Council’s emergency meeting on the Mali issue on Wednesday.
