Coup leaders in Mali faced a wave of international pressure on Wednesday, a day after they forced out a president weakened by months of mass protests. However, there were few obvious traces of the previous day’s drama on Bamako’s streets on Wednesday — troops had not been deployed en masse despite the coup leaders announcing a night-time curfew. ‘Take responsibility’The coup leaders appeared on television overnight to pledge a political transition and new elections within a “reasonable time”. There were no reports of casualties during the military takeover but the coup leaders announced a curfew and border closures, in effect sealing off the country. The coup leaders also remain “committed to the Algiers process”, a 2015 peace agreement between the Malian government and armed groups in the north of the country, he said.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 19, 2020 21:45 UTC