Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced his resignation with immediate effect in the early hours of Wednesday morning, a day after rebel soldiers launched a coup.
In an address on state television, the 75-year-old also said that both the government and Mali’s national assembly would be dissolved.
“I would like at this precise moment, while thanking the Malian people for their support throughout these long years and the warmth of their affection, to tell you of my decision to relinquish my duties,” Keita said.
Mali’s Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse are both being held by rebel soldiers, a senior government official confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.
“The prime minister and the president were driven by rebel soldiers to Kati in armoured vehicles,” said Boubou Doucoure, who works as Cisse’s director of communications.
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Soldiers arrested both political leaders in the capital late Tuesday afternoon after launching a mutiny and seizing control of the Kati base earlier in the day.
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