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Regional Delegation to Meet with Ousted Leaders of Mali's Transitional
Government

VOA News

   A delegation from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS is scheduled to
   meet Wednesday with Mali's ousted interim president and prime minister.
   President Bah N'Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane have been held at
   the military's headquarters in Kati since Monday, when they were
   arrested in the capital, Bamako.
   Interim Vice President Assimi Goita, an army colonel who led the coup
   that toppled then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last October, said
   Tuesday he removed N'Daw and Ouane because they neglected to advise him
   about a cabinet reshuffle that left out two members of the military, a
   move he said violated the agreement that created the civilian
   transitional government.
   Defense Minister Souleymane Doucoure was also detained along with N'Daw
   and Ouane.
   Goita said the country was still on track to hold presidential and
   legislative elections set for next February.
   The detentions of N'Daw and Ouane sparked outrage among the
   international community. A joint statement issued Tuesday by ECOWAS,
   the United Nations, African Union and other international bodies called
   for their immediate release, while French President Emmanuel Macron
   denounced the move as a "coup d'etat."
   Mali has been in turmoil since then-President Amadou Toumani Touré was
   toppled in a military coup in 2012 that led ethnic Tuareg rebels to
   seize control of several northern towns, which were then taken over by
   Islamist insurgents. France deployed forces to repel the insurgents the
   following year, but the rebels have continued to operate in rural
   areas.

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