Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned and dissolved parliament after a military coup on Tuesday, 18 August 2020
“I want no blood to be spilled to keep me in power. I have decided to step down from office. If today, certain elements of our armed forces want this to end through their intervention, do I really have a choice?” He also announced that his government and the National Assembly would be dissolved
President Keita was seized from his home early Tuesday by the military and detained at a military base in Kati just outside the capital Bamako. The military coup in Mali follows months of opposition protests demanding Keita’s resignation.
Keita spoke on the Mali national broadcaster ORTM just before midnight, wearing a mask saying his resignation 3 years before his final term was due to end — was effective immediately.
Video of Mali’s President Keita announcing his resignation
