The junta, which calls itself the National Committee for the
Salvation of the People (CNSP), said on Facebook it was “informing public and
international opinion that former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been
released and is currently in his residence”.
Keita’s release had been a key demand of Mali’s neighbours
and international organisations, including the African Union and European
Union.
“President IBK is free in his movements, he’s at home,” a
spokesman for the junta, Djibrila Maiga, told AFP, referring to Keita by his
initials, as many Malians do.
A Keita relative, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
the 75-year-old former leader had returned overnight to his house in the
Sebenikoro district of the capital Bamako.
Keita, prime minister Boubou Cisse and other senior
officials were seized by rebel troops led by young officers who staged a mutiny
at a base near Bamako.
In the early hours of August 19, Keita appeared on national
TV to announce his resignation, saying he had had no other choice, and wanted
to avoid “bloodshed”.
The release of Keita and other leaders has been demanded by
Mali’s neighbours and allies and international organisations.
Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, heading a team
from the regional bloc ECOWAS, was given access to Keita last Saturday, and
said he seemed “very fine.”
(AFP)
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