Mali’s main political opposition has rejected a plan by regional mediators aimed at ending an escalating political crisis in a country already dealing with a violent Islamic insurgency.
The June 5 Movement turned down a plan Sunday by negotiators with the West African regional bloc ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) that would call on President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to form a unity government with the opposition party. The embattled president has already conceded to a previous opposition demand to dissolve the country’s Constitutional Court.
But the June 5 Movement has remained steadfast in its demand for President Keita’s resignation, as the West African nation remains mired in an economic crisis, corruption, and the eight-year-old Islamic insurgency in central Mali. Anger is also brewing about the results of 31 legislative races that remain in dispute.
The political stalemate has led to violent clashes between anti-government demonstrators and security forces that have left at least 14 protestors dead and another 154 injured.
ECOWAS has rejected the opposition’s demand for Keita’s resignation.
