Mali’s President, Ibrahim Keita, has resigned his position in order to avoid “bloodshed” hours after his arrest by troops in a sudden coup that followed a long political crisis in the West African nation, AFP reports.
The President and Prime Minister, Boubou Cise, were detained on Tuesday afternoon and drove to a military base in the town of Katie, near the capital Bamako by soldiers.
Ibrahim appeared untroubled as he appeared in a state television broadcast after midnight to declare the dissolution of the government and National Assembly, and stated that he had no choice but to resign with immediate effect.
France and the European Union all warned against any unconstitutional transfer of power as the coup played out on Tuesday.
The Economic Community for West African States also condemned the coup in a statement, pledging to close land and air borders to Mali and push for sanctions against “all the putschists and their partners and collaborators”.
