Mali: France demands immediate release of ousted president as U.N. Security Council urges soldiers return to barracks
France has asked on Wednesday for the immediate release of Mali’s president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, as well as of his government, detained after a coup led by soldiers on Tuesday.
“France acknowledges the announcement of the president Keita’s resignation. It calls for its immediate release (…) and for the restoration, without delay, of a civilian power”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement.
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday however condemned the mutiny in Mali and urged the soldiers involved to immediately release all government officials they had detained and and return to their barracks without delay.
The 15-member council was briefed after soldiers ousted Mali’s president in a coup. Those soldiers promised on Wednesday to oversee elections within a “reasonable” time and moved swiftly to hold talks with one of the West African nation’s most influential power brokers.