Mali’s new military rulers have promised “a civilian political transition” that will lead to a general election after a “reasonable time”.
In a short televised statement on Wednesday morning, the soldiers who are now in charge of the country after a military coup on Tuesday said they were “not interested in power but in the health of the nation” but had intervened because of growing “chaos, insecurity and anarchy”.
In the name of the National Committee for the WellBeing of the People, Col Maj Ismaël Wagué promised polls to “give Mali strong institutions capable of better managing our everyday lives and restoring confidence between the governed and the governors”.
The intervention on national media came at the end of a fast-moving and chaotic day, which had started with reports of a minor mutiny and ended with the deposition of the president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
At about midnight, Keïta, whose second term in office had a further three years to run, announced his resignation, as well as the dissolution of the government and the national assembly. (Guardian)
