July 21: West African leaders expected in Mali

Four presidents from the West African region are expected in Mali on Thursday (July 23) to help resolve the political crisis in the country.

They are expected to try the latest leg of mediation between counterpart Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and the main opposition protest movement – M5-RFP who are calling for Keita’s resignation.

The four include: Senegal’s Macky Sall, Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara, Niger’s Mahamadou Issoufou and Ghana’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The most recent regional intervention included the deployment of a former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, who met all parties involved. The protesters, however, rejected the call for a unity government.

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July 15: Goodluck Jonathan named ECOWAS mediator

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has been appointed a special envoy by the regional Economic Community for West African States, ECOWAS; to help mediate in Mali’s political crisis.

GEJ – as he is known back home – is expected to mediate between the embattled president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, opposition leaders, civil society actors as well as other major stakeholders as the crisis continues to deepen.

His appointment was announced by Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, chairperson of the ECOWAS commission. The bloc has last month dispatched a mission to meet with President Keita.

Protests by an opposition umbrella group got to a head late last week extending through the weekend as protesters reignited calls for the president to resign. Their demands are centered on mainly insecurity and disputed elections.

Recent protests led to the loss of four lives as police clashed with people in the streets. The state broadcaster was attacked as was the parliament – the latter was looted. The ruling party offices was also attacked.

The president has since reiterated his call for dialogue with the opposition and also took the move of dissolving the Constitutional Court – which action seems to have done little to appease the protesters.

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July 12: Mali ruling party offices ransacked

Protesters ransacked a building belonging to President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s political party on Sunday, underscoring the tensions that remain in Mali, even after the president met one of their top demands.

The latest unrest at a neighborhood headquarters for Keita’s RPM party came as mourners returned from funerals to bury several of the victims who have died during political demonstrations in recent days, witnesses said.

Only hours earlier, the pres

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