Iran Press/ Africa: A key figure in Mali’s opposition protest movement, Mahmoud Dicko, plans to step back from politics after a meeting with soldiers who ousted Mali’s president in a coup the day before, his spokesman Amadou Maiga said on Wednesday.
“He wants to withdraw (from politics),” Maiga said by text message after Dicko met with junta leaders earlier in the day.
Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, and several officials were arrested by mutinying soldiers on Tuesday 18 August, local media reported.
Keita and Cisse were taken to the Kati military camp, located 15 kilometers (9 miles) northwest of the capital Bamako, at around 4.30 p.m. local time (1630 GMT), according to Journal du Mali.
Mali has been in turmoil since Tuareg rebels and loosely-allied militants took over the northern desert regions from the Malian military control in 2012. The ensuing power vacuum allowed extremists linked to al-Qaeda to dominate the territory
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