Mali President Resigns on Television After Military Coup

“I wish no blood to be shed to keep me in power,” President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, said.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Ibrahim Boubacar Keita)

President of Mali Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was detained by mutinous Malian soldiers in a military camp, has announced his resignation and the dissolution of the National Assembly and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse's government.

“I have decided to quit my functions, all my functions from this moment ... I declare the dissolution of the National Assembly and the government," Keita said in a brief declaration broadcast by national television ORTM on Tuesday, 18 August.

"I wish no blood to be shed to keep me in power," he added. The dramatic development comes after more than two months of regular demonstrations calling for him to step down.

Keita, who was elected President in 2013 and re-elected five years later, was arrested along with Prime Minister Cisse by mutinous soldiers near Bamako on Tuesday morning, local media reported.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations have condemned the arrest of Keita by mutinous soldiers and demanded restoration of the constitutional order, reported Xinhua news agency.

“The Secretary-General is following with deep concern the unfolding developments in Mali, including the military mutiny which culminated in the arrest of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and members of his government earlier today in Bamako,” said a statement issued by Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.