An envoy from West Africa’s regional bloc arrived in Mali for talks with the military junta over restoring civilian rule in the volatile country.
Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, representing the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, is due to meet junta officials in the capital Bamako, including the leader Colonel Assimi Goita.
Mali, a conflict-ridden Sahel nation of 21 million, is governed by a junta that seized power in August 2020 and has so far resisted international pressure to swiftly restore civilian rule.
On Tuesday, Jonathan urged Mali to transition towards democracy as soon as possible, describing the country’s government as an aberration.
He made the comments a day after Mali’s army-dominated legislature approved a bill allowing the junta to rule for up to five years.
Mali’s army ousted elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita after weeks of protests fuelled by frustations over perceived government corruption and an ongoing jihadist conflict.
