Mali coup leaders free former prime minister, generals

Mali’s former Prime Minister Boubou Cisse and other officials and military personnel detained during the August coup have been released, according to a statement by the vice president, Colonel Assimi Goita. The releases had taken place on Wednesday, Goita said on Thursday on the public radio station, National Radio of Mali. Although a transitional government has been appointed after the August 18 coup, Goita, who led the coup, has remained in the government as vice president in charge of security and defence issues. The officials’ release was one of the demands of international powers including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which this week lifted economic sanctions against Mali after the appointment of the transitional government. The senior figures had been held since the removal of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, which alarmed Mali’s foreign partners who feared it would further destabilise Mali and undermine a joint campaign against fighters in the wider Sahel region. The former head of the national assembly, Moussa Timbine, and eight generals were among those released, said the statement issued by the vice president late on Wednesday. “However those concerned remain at the disposal of the judicial authorities,” it said. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">