Mali President Resigns After Military Coup

Mali President has resigned after a military coup in Mali on Tuesday.

NewsOne Nigeria had reported earlier that Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and his Prime Minister, Boubou Cissé, were “arrested” late Tuesday afternoon in Bamako by mutiny Soldiers supporting the opposition.

“We can tell you that the president and prime ministers are under our control. We arrested them at his home ” (at the home of the Head of State), said a soldier, who requested anonymity.

“IBK (President Keita) and his Prime Minister are in an armoured vehicle on their way to Kati”, the military camp on the outskirts of Bamako where the mutiny began in the morning, said another military source in the mutineer camp.

However, the Malian President announced that he is resigning from his post early on Wednesday, saying that he does not wish blood to be shed following a military mutiny that plunged the country into a political crisis.

“Today, certain parts of the military have decided that intervention was necessary. Do I really have a choice? Because I do not wish blood to be shed,” the Mali President said in a brief statement broadcast on national television.

The Mali President said he has decided “to give up my duty from now on.”