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Mali president steps down after being arrested by mutinous troops

The president also announced the dissolution of the country’s unicameral parliament and resignation of the cabinet of ministers

Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP

Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita

© Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced his resignation on Wednesday after being arrested by mutinous troops on Tuesday.

"I inform you about my decision to resign, to give up my duty from now on," he said in a broadcast of the Radio and Television of Mali.

The president also announced the dissolution of the country’s unicameral parliament and resignation of the cabinet of ministers.

Keita, who held the presidential post since 2013, said he does not want "any blood to be shed" for him to remain in the office.

A mutiny broke out at an army base in Kati, outside capital city Bamako, on Tuesday morning. The rebels arrested a number of ministers, including foreign and finance ministers, and the parliament speaker. According to the Malijet news website, the rebels are led by Colonel Sadio Camara, a former director of a military school at the Kati military base. Wakat Sera reported that the Malian General Staff is also controlled by the rebels, with a number of senior officers being arrested.

Later in the day, media reported that the country’s president and the prime minister were also arrested and taken to the Kati military base.

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