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Mali Opposition Party Rejects Mediators Plan to End Political Crisis

VOA News

   Mali's main political opposition has rejected a plan by regional
   mediators aimed at ending an escalating political crisis in a country
   already dealing with a violent Islamic insurgency.

   The June 5 Movement turned down a plan Sunday by negotiators with the
   West African regional bloc ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African
   States)that would call on President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to form a
   unity government with the opposition party. The embattled president has
   already conceded to a previous opposition demand to dissolve the
   country's Constitutional Court.

   But the June 5 Movement has remained steadfast in its demand for
   President Keita's resignation, as the West African nation remains mired
   in an economic crisis, corruption, and the eight-year-old Islamic
   insurgency in central Mali.Anger is also brewing about the results of
   31 legislative races that remain in dispute.

   The political stalemate has led to violent clashes between
   anti-government demonstrators and security forces that have left at
   least14 protestors dead and another 154 injured.

   ECOWAS has rejected the opposition's demand for Keita's resignation.

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