New Mali junta opens talks on transition to civilian rule
President of the CNSP (National Committee for the Salvation of the People) Assimi Goita (C) prepares for a meeting between Malian military leaders and an Ecowas delegation headed by former Nigerian president on August 22, 2020, in an aim to restore order after the military coup in Bamako.
The West African country has long been plagued by chronic instability, a simmering jihadist revolt, ethnic violence and endemic corruption, prompting a clique of rebel colonels to detain elderly President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last month.
Saturday's summit was originally planned for last weekend but was called off at the last minute after a quarrel between the military and the June 5 Movement, which spearheaded the protests that led to the toppling of president Keita.
Members of the Malian diaspora will also have their say, according to a spokesperson for the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), as the junta is known.
Bamako,
Mali's military junta will hold meetings on Saturday to discuss its promised transition to civilian rule after mounting pressure from neighbours to yield power in the weeks since it overthrew the nation's leader.
