Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Talks between West African nations and
Mali’s new junta ended on Monday
without a deal on how the country
should return to civilian rule following
last week’s coup, the two sides said.
Separately, they also said that ousted
president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita —
whose return to office had been initially
demanded by the regional bloc ECOWAS
— no longer wished to resume duties.
The August 18 coup triggered
shockwaves among Mali’s neighbours,
fearing that one of the region’s most
volatile countries would spiral into
chaos.
ECOWAS — the 15-nation Economic
Community of West African States —
sent a high-level delegation to Bamako
on Saturday, led by former Nigerian
president Goodluck Jonathan, to press
its demands for the “immediate return
to constitutional order.”
The talks have focussed on the
transition to civilian rule.
“There were discussions on both sides,
given that at this stage nothing has
been set down, nothing has been
decided, and that as far as we are
concerned, the final architecture of the
transition will be discussed and defined
by us,” said the junta’s spokesman,
Colonel Ismael Wague.
Jonathan said: “We have agreed on a
number of issues, but there are some
issues that we have not agreed. So on
those issues we told the military
officers the thinking of ECOWAS and we
asked them to go and review.”
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