LAGOS SEPTEMBER 1ST (NEWSRANGERS)-Conflict-riven Mali is at a crucial crossroads two weeks after a military junta took power in a coup, with calls for a thorough spring cleaning to rid the poor West African country of corruption, nepotism and misrule. The August 18 putsch has prompted Mali’s neighbours and ally and former colonial ruler France…
LAGOS AUGUST 28TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Mali must return to civilian rule immediately and hold elections within 12 months, West African countries demanded Friday, as they considered sanctions over a military coup that toppled the country’s president. The demands were spelt out after the new junta released ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, seized in the August 18 coup,…
LAGOS AUGUST 28TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Karim Keita, the son of deposed Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita who became a focus of public anger over his lifestyle, has fled to a “neighbouring country”, sources familiar with his whereabouts told AFP Thursday. “He left Mali two days ago by road,” said a Malian MP close to Karim, who had…
LAGOS AUGUST 24TH (NEWSRANGERS)-The junta that seized power in Mali wants a military-led transitional body to rule for three years and has agreed to release ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, a source in a visiting West African delegation said Sunday. “The junta has affirmed that it wants a three-year transition to review the foundations of…
LAGOS AUGUST 23RD (NEWSRANGERS)-A West African delegation visiting Mali to push for a speedy return to civilian rule following a coup said it was “very hopeful” on Saturday after meeting with the country’s military junta and the president it ousted. The head of the delegation from the regional ECOWAS bloc, former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan,…
LAGOS AUGUST 22ND (NEWSRANGERS)-Mediators from West Africa’s regional bloc are due in Mali on Saturday for talks aimed at reversing a coup that has been condemned abroad, but celebrated by many in a country battling an Islamist insurgency and simmering political unrest. Leaders from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have taken…
LAGOS AUGUST 20TH (NEWSRANGERS)-African and Western leaders condemned on Wednesday the junta that forced Mali’s president from power, warning the coup was a deep setback for the West African nation that could threaten the battle against Islamic extremism. Soldiers calling themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People promised that they would ultimately…
LAGOS AUGUST 20TH (NEWSRANGERS)-The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Mali membership after the arrest of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister, Boubou Cisse. This development is coming amid jubilation in Mali after soldiers detained the president and the Prime Minister. In a statement on Tuesday, ECOWAS also ordered its members…