A mass protest in Mali against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita descended into violence on Friday as protesters blocked main thoroughfares, attacked the parliament and stormed the premises of a state broadcaster.
One person was killed during the protest in the capital Bamako, officials said.
The protest, organised by a new opposition coalition, is the third such demonstration in two months — significantly escalating pressure on the embattled president.
Thousands initially gathered in a central city square on Friday to demand that Keita resigns over the country’s long-running jihadist conflict, economic woes and perceived government corruption.
Led by influential imam Mahmoud Dicko, the so-called June 5 movement is channelling deep-seated frustrations in the war-torn West African state.
Keita this week unsuccessfully floated political reforms in a bid to appease opponents but did not concede to demands from the political opposition to…
Source: Vanguard Newspaper
