4 yıl önce

Ousted Mali president freed, son flees abroad

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was released from detention, 10 days after mutinying soldiers unseated him from power. Meanwhile, sources say his son has fled to a "neighbouring country."

Reuters

Release of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and other leaders was a continuous demand by Mali's neighbours and allies and international organisations.

Mali's new military rulers have said that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was detained during the country's coup on August 18, had been freed.

The junta, which calls itself the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), said on Facebook it was "informing public and international opinion that former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been released and is currently in his residence."

Keita's release had been a key demand of Mali's neighbours and international organisations, including the African Union and European Union.

"President IBK is free in his movements, he's at home," a spokesman for the junta, Djibrila Maiga, told AFP news agency, referring to Keita by his initials, as many Malians do.

A Keita relative, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the 75-year-old former leader had returned overnight to his house in the Sebenikoro district of the capital Bamako.

The junta leaders say they mutinied because the country was sinking into chaos and insecurity which they said was largely the fault of poor government.

They have promised to oversee a transition to elections within a "reasonable" amount of time.

Released after ECOWAS mediation

Keita, prime minister Boubou Cisse and other senior officials were seized by rebel troops led by young officers who staged a mutiny at a base near Bamako.

In the early hours of August 19, Keita appeared on national TV to announce his resignation, saying he had had no other choice, and wanted to avoid "bloodshed."

The release of Keita and other leaders has been demanded by Mali's neighbours and allies and international organisations.

Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, heading a team from the regional bloc ECOWAS, was given access to Keita last Saturday, and said he seemed "very fine."

The CNSP told a delegation of West African mediators that they want to stay in power for a three-year transition period, Nigeria said on Wednesday.

In contrast, the regional bloc is seeking for a transitional government of no more than one year.

Son flees to 'neighbouring country'

Meanwhile, Karim Keita, son of deposed Malian president, has fled to a "neighbouring country", sources familiar with his whereabouts told AFP news agency on Thursday.

"He left Mali two days ago by road," said a Malian lawmaker close to Karim, who had himself sat in parliament since 2013 and was re-elected only months ago.

"He called me. He is fine," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The president was arrested along with other government members during the coup on August 18, but Karim disappeared from view, apparently escaping arrest.

Person of loose morals?

Pictures from leaked videos apparently showing Karim partying abroad with scantily-clad young women, which AFP could not independently verify, were a staple of demonstrations against Keita's rule that broke out in June.

The president's son, aged in his early 40s, was painted as a person of loose morals living the high life while his impoverished country suffered.

Public pressure prompted Karim to resign in July from the powerful chairmanship of the National Assembly's Defence committee, although he clung on to his parliamentary seat.

The lawmaker said that Karim could be in neighbouring Burkina Faso or Ivory Coast, while a member of the Keita family, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was "not in Morocco."

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies