July 2020. Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari announced his first trip in months as the presidency confirmed he was joining four other presidents to salvage peace talks in Mali. Regional mediators are stepping up efforts today in the West African country where the political opposition has renewed its call for protests so that President Ibrahim Boubcar Keita leaves office three years before his final term ends. Opposition leaders had rejected an earlier solution proposed by mediators from the 15-nation West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS. An earlier ECOWAS mediation led by former Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathan called for Keita to form a unity government and share power, but opposition leaders said the deal fell short because the president would get to remain in office. ECOWAS said Keita’s departure is not something it can endorse. The president was democratically elected in 2013 and re-elected five years later. His popularity has plummeted amid allegations of corruption and a relentless Islamic insurgency that began the year before he took office and has worsened under his watch. In June, demonstrators began taking to the streets by the thousands calling for his ouster, naming themselves the June 5 Movement. Nearly two weeks ago, things took a dramatic turn for the worse when security forces attempted to put down the protests over several days. At least a dozen people were killed, and grief deepened the resolve of Keita’s opponents to seek his removal.
Jul 2020. The Crisis in Mali
