Military in Mali releases former Transition leaders
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Former top leaders of the Transition Government of Mali who resigned on Wednesday have been released from custody by the military.
Transition President Bah N'Daw and Prime Ministe, Moctar Ouane were arrested just after the announcement of a new government team and taken to Kati military camp, about 15 km from Bamako.
Their release on Wednesday night was confirmed on Thursday by several official sources who have knowledge of the current situation in the country.
The arrest of the President and his Prime Minister, alongside several of their civilian and military collaborators, by Vice President, Col. Assimi Goita, had sparked a wave of condemnations around the world.
The Malian political class, civil society, as well as organisations of the international community condemned the action and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the detainees.
On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council also strongly condemned these arrests, and demanded respect for the initial timetable of the Transition with civil authorities.
On Tuesday, Col. Goita said in a press release that he had dismissed the President of the Transition and his Prime Minister, accusing them of violating the transition charter for having formed the new government without consulting him.
On Wednesday the two leaders resigned as emissaries from ECOWAS, led by the mediator of the sub-regional organisation for Mali, former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, worked to find a favourable outcome to this new crisis in Mali.
-0- PANA GT/JSG/SOC/KND/AR 27May2021
