Mali: UN calls for peace & dialogue amid protests seeking President Keita's resignation

United Nations has called for peace and dialogue in Mali as security forces battle violent protests. On June 20, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called upon Malian political leaders to refrain from actions likely to trigger demonstrations. This comes as thousands of civilians, on June 19, took to streets demanding President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's resignation for the second time in the month. 

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''The Secretary-General calls on all political leaders to send clear messages to their supporters to exercise utmost restraint and to refrain from any action likely to fuel tensions," said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres.

During massive demonstrations, protesters criticized the April legislative election and called for the National Assembly and constitutional court to be dissolved. According to reports, they also put up roadblocks to prevent police from advancing after the latter started firing tear gas to disperse the crowds in Bamako's Independence Square. Mahmoud Dicko, an imam who has helped lead the movement against the 75-year-old president, then asked demonstrators to go home and said he would get back to them on what comes next.

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Mali's political crisis 

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, who is due to step down in 2023, became president the year after Mali's president of a decade was overthrown in a coup, creating a power vacuum that allowed the Islamic insurgency to take hold. Seven years after the French-led military intervention, insurgents linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group continue to launch frequent attacks. Over the last five years, they also have expanded their reach into central Mali, stoking animosity and deadly violence between ethnic groups in the region.

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Image credits: AP