BAMAKO (Mali) July 17 — Malians gathered in mosques today to pray for those killed in turbulent protests that have shaken the country, after the opposition alliance softened an earlier pledge to hold a mass rally in honour of the dead.
The opposition June 5 Movement scrapped plans for a fresh demonstration as the West African state’s international allies seek to defuse soaring tensions.
Three days of clashes between protesters and security forces last week left 11 dead and 158 injured, according to an official tally, in the bloodiest bout of political unrest Mali had seen in years.
The June 5 Movement — a disparate alliance of political, social and civil society leaders — is tapping into deep-seated anger over the country’s eight-year jihadist conflict, economic woes and perceived corruption.
It has repeatedly demanded that President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita step down, and rejected conciliatory offers from the president such as forming a new government of national unity.
But, in a sign of de-escalation, the movement said on Wednesday that it would urge people to commemorate the protest victims on Friday in mosques — instead of on the streets.
The news came as former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan arrived in the capital Bamako to mediate, as head of a mission from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States.
The West Africa bloc is due to continue holding meetings between warring parties today.
On the agenda will be the March-April parliamentary election, the disputed outcome of which many analysts say is the root of the latest crisis.
Mali’s allies and neighbours are keen to avoid the fragile Sahel nation of some 20 million people sliding into chaos.
Swathes of the country lie outside of government control because of a jihadist insurgency that began in 2012 and has since claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Today, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights urged all sides in Mali to show restraint, and warned of an apparent surge in fake news on social media in the country.
“There are all these tensions and it risks inflaming tensions further,” the commissioner’s spokeswoman Liz Throssell said.
Keita’s government has condemned the recent deaths of protesters, but the president appears unlikely to concede to demands that he step down.
“There have been some slip-ups. It’s very unfortunate what happened, and we apologise for that,” Prime Minister Boubou Cisse told French media yesterday.
But he added that Keita’s resignation is “inconceivable” since the president was democratically elected. — AFP
