MALI: Coup leaders reach ‘agreement’ with envoys, want three-year transition

The military government of Mali that seized power wants a military-led transitional body to rule the country for three years and has agreed to release deposed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

This came after a delegation from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, and members of Mali’s military junta say they have reached agreement on several points, after a day of negotiations aimed at returning the troubled country to civilian rule.

“The junta has affirmed that it wants a three-year transition to review the foundations of the Malian state. This transition will be directed by a body led by a soldier, who will also be head of state,” a source in the ECOWAS delegation in capital Bamako told newsmen.

“The government will also be predominantly composed of soldiers” under the military government’s proposal, the source said on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: ECOWAS delegation meets ousted Mali president, coup plotters in Bamako

Leaders of the military government led by Colonel Assimi Goita and mediators from ECOWAS, West Africa’s regional bloc, led by Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan, met behind closed doors all day on Sunday and are due to resume discussions on Monday.

“We have been able to agree on a number of points but not yet on all the discussions,” Jonathan told reporters on Sunday night after some nine hours of negotiations.

A spokesman for the military government, Colonel Ismael Wague, said: “We reached compromise on certain aspects and the negotiations will continue tomorrow.”

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