Mali – (warsoor) – The bid by West African leaders at the one-day summit on Thursday, July 24, to calm nerves and restore peace in Mali ended in a deadlock amid the escalating political crisis in the country.
Malians are calling for the resignation of their president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, over the unabated insurgency attacks in the country coupled with economic crisis and corruption.
The citizens also want President Keita to resign over the controversial parliamentary elections which handed victory to the president’s party.
The agitation has led to a full-blown protest movement named June 5. A recent protest organised by the movement turned violent.
For three straight days, clashes between the protesters and security forces left 11 dead and 158 injured, the worst political unrest Mali had seen in years.
To restore peace in the country, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders in the region met President Keita and leaders of the protest movement.
A report by Channels TV, however, indicates that the intervention failed to seal a deal. The report indicates that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mediators suggested forming a new unity government which will include opposition members.
They also suggested the appointment of new constitutional court judges who could rex-examine the results of the controversial elections.
However, the June 5 Movement insisted that any proposition that did not involve Keita’s resignation will not be accepted.
However, the president’s camp and the opposition have continued talking while the protests have been suspended ahead of the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir festival.
Brema Ely Dicko, a sociologist at the University of Bamako, had suggested the opposition might be prepared to accept Prime Minister Boubou Cisse’s resignation instead of Keita’s.
ECOWAS leaders will reportedly hold another summit on Monday, July 27, in the continuous bid to ensure peace reigns in Mali.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that amid heightened efforts towards stopping the socio-political crisis in Mali, Nigeria’s ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan and President Buhari travelled to Bamako, the capital city of Mali.
The Nigerian leaders arrived Mali on Thursday, July 23, alongside the president of Ghana Nana Akuffo-Addo and Mahamadou Issoufou, president of the Republic of Niger.
They are parts of the ECOWAS special envoy on a peace mission to Mali which is currently embroiled in crisis.
Others on the peace mission include chairman of ECOWAS authority, president of Senegal Macky Sall and president of Cote d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara.
Source: Legit.ng