Mali’s former junta leader Col Assimi Goïta has declared himself the country’s transitional president. He made the announcement after stripping interim President Bah Ndaw and PM Moctar Ouane of their powers. The two ousted leaders were freed from military detention, where they had been held since Monday in what was seen as Mali’s second coup in nine months. The seizure of power came after a cabinet reshuffle which Col Goïta complained he was not consulted about. Two army officers involved in the previous coup lost their jobs in the reshuffle. The situation in Mali today is said to be tense but calm. Col Goïta has said elections will still go ahead next year as planned. The former leaders’ release had been requested by the UN, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the EU and the US.They had been held at a military camp outside the capital, Bamako, since their arrest on Monday evening.
SOURCE: REUTERS