Report has it that Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has said he has launched an investigation into violence committed during a mass anti-government protest on Friday, which saw at least one person killed and 20 others wounded.
Thousands rallied in the capital city Bamako to demand Keita’s resignation over long-running security issues, economic woes and perceived government corruption in the fragile West African state.
The rally was organised by an opposition coalition and is the third such demonstration in two months – significantly escalating pressure on the embattled leader.
The protest was the third since June, and came after the coalition rejected concessions from Keita aimed at resolving a months-long political standoff that began after a disputed legislative election in March.
But Friday’s protest later descended into chaos as demonstrators blocked main thoroughfares, attacked the parliament and stormed the premises of the state broadcaster while police fired tear gas to disperse them.
The prime minister’s office also confirmed the death. The circumstances under which people were wounded and one person was killed were not immediately clear while the opposition alliance said in a Friday evening statement that, pending further details, it held the government responsible for the violence.
Meanwhile, Keita, in a statement on Friday evening, said the scale of “human and material losses” remained unclear but that an investigation was under way. Africa-News reports.