Military Frees Ousted Mali President, Keita

Mali’s new military rulers has said that former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who had been detained since the country’s coup on August 18, has been freed.

In August, elements of the Malian Armed Forces began a mutiny. Soldiers on pick-up trucks stormed the Soundiata military base in the town of Kati, where gunfire was exchanged before weapons were distributed from the armory.

They arrested the President, his prime minister, Prime minister Boubou Cisse and other top political officers.

Keita subsequently resigned to avoid bloodshed after he was detained in a military coup, whose leaders pledged new elections to resolve a spiralling political crisis in the fragile West African nation.

The junta, which calls itself the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), on Facebook has now said that it is;

Informing public and international opinion that former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been released and is currently in his residence.

Keita’s release was been a key demand of Mali’s neighbours and international organisations, including the African Union and European Union.

The Junta carried out the coup following long protest against corruption, mismanagement of the economy, and the worsening security situation with jihadist and communal violence.