The French-speaking editorial staff of the DW had confirmation by the National Committee for the Salvation of the People of the release of former Malian President IBK.
It is the spokesman for the military, Ismaël Wagué, reached by phone, who confirmed this Thursday, August 27, 2020 to Deutsche Welle, the release of former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. “Yes IBK is in Bamako in a safe place,” said the CNSP in particular.
The news was also published by Jeune Afrique magazine on its website. According to Jeune Afrique, which quotes a source close to the ex-president’s family, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was released around 3 a.m., Bamako time.
IBK was arrested on August 18 in Bamako, and forced to resign by the military.
On the morning of August 18, 2020, a mutiny broke out in the military garrison of Kati, near Bamako, from where the 2012 coup d’état started, which precipitated the fall of northern Mali into the hands of Islamist groups.
At the end of the afternoon, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, known as “IBK”, and his Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, are arrested by soldiers in revolt. Soldiers fraternize with the demonstrators who have been demanding for months the departure of the head of state, accusing him of corruption, nepotism and powerlessness in the face of insecurity.
Within hours, the mutiny turned into an attempted coup d’état condemned by a worried international community.
On the night of August 18 to 19, under the constraint of the military, President Keïta announced in a televised statement his resignation, the dissolution of the government and that of the National Assembly. The putschists claim to want to establish a “civil political transition” leading to general elections within a “reasonable time”.
On August 19, an army colonel, Assimi Goïta, is presented as the new strongman of the country.
The opposition welcomes the coup, believing that it has “completed” its struggle to obtain the departure of the president, and says it is ready to work out with the junta a political transition.
The international community unanimously condemns the putsch and demands the return to constitutional order, as well as the release of the president. The regional organization for West Africa, ECOWAS, condemns the action of “military coup” and takes measures to isolate Mali.
France, very committed in the Sahel against jihadist groups, believes that “the fight against terrorist groups and the defense of democracy and the rule of law are inseparable”.
In the evening, the putschists allow a UN team to visit the personalities they detain, including the overthrown president and his prime minister.
Reference: https://magazinedelafrique.com/actualite/mali-ibk-libre-selon-les-putschistes/
