Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, in office since 2013, resigned and dissolved parliament, after being taken to a military camp by some members of the army Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was president of Mali since 2013, resigned after a coup of state.
The resignation, in fact, came after the dissolution of parliament after Keita, Prime Minister Boubou Cissé and other ministers were arrested by some soldiers and taken to an army camp in Kati, not far from the capital Bamako.
It is still difficult to establish whether and to what extent the military has now taken control of the country.
Keita announced his resignation in a televised message broadcast on the evening of Tuesday, August 18 stating that part of the army had intervened against him explaining that he avoided resisting to avoid the spread of sandue.
Keita was elected for a second term in 2018. In recent months there have been protests and allegations of corruption against him, along with growing discontent over the economic situation in the country, where - according to World Bank data - more than 40 per cent of the population is in extreme poverty.
There have also been growing problems with the army, due to non-payment of salaries and a general dissatisfaction linked to the "continuous conflict" with the jihadist factions that is ongoing in some areas of the country, and which also affects neighboring states such as Niger. and Burkina Faso.
According to the BBC, the coup was led by Colonel Malick Diaw, the second highest in office among those present in the Kati camp, and by General Sadio Camara. It appears that after taking control of Kati camp, the military interested in deposing Keita traveled the 15 kilometers that separated them from Bamako, where protests against the president were underway. Once in Bamako, the military probably entered the private residence of Keita and Prime Minister Cissé, and then took them to Kati. It seems that the son of the president (and president of parliament) and the ministers of foreign affairs and finance were also brought to Kati.
Also from Kati, another coup d'état started in 2012, which led to the dismissal of the then president Amadou Toumani Touré, who had held the post since 2002.
After the first news from Mali, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) has decided that the borders with Mali will be temporarily closed and that while waiting for the situation to be clarified, financial flows to the country will also be suspended.