West African leaders will have a virtual summit on Monday to propose measures to end the ongoing political crisis in Mali, reported France 24. The summit follows a meeting between five heads of state with the Mali government and the opposition in Bamako on Thursday.
The presidents of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal held talks with various parties to an end to the political stalemate in Mali, but the meeting failed to break the deadlock.
“We have decided that we will report back to all the heads of state during an extraordinary meeting on Monday July 27,” said Mahamadou Issoufou, Niger’s President and current chair of the 15-member regional ECOWAS bloc. “ECOWAS will take strong measures that will contribute to the resolutions of the crisis.”
Tens of thousands of people took to demand President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s resignation over his failure to tackle the dire economy, corruption and the eight-year militant revolt. At least 14 protesters were killed this month in clashes with the police, according to the UN.
Keita, who came to power in 2013, has come under increasing pressure to end Mali’s long-running militant conflict that killed thousands of soldiers and civilians. The Mali president still has three years left in his final term.
Last week, a 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission, led by Goodluck Jonathan, former Nigerian president, presented a proposal to set up a government of national unity that would include 50 percent members of the current government, 30 percent from the opposition and the rest 20 percent civil society groups.
It also suggested the appointment of new judges to the Constitutional Court, which had already been “de facto” dissolved by Keita in a bid to calm unrest.
But the June 5 Movement rejected the proposals that did not involve Keita’s departure, calling for accountability for the killings in the June 10-12 protests.
