BAMAKO: African and Western leaders condemned on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) the junta that forced Mali’s president from power, warning the coup was a deep setback for the West African nation that could threaten the battle against Islamic extremism. Junta members urged Malians to return to business as usual. A day earlier, armed soldiers fired into the air outside President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s home and took him into their custody. The African Union suspended Mali from the bloc, and the West African bloc Ecowas said it would stop all economic, trade and financial flows and transactions between member-states and Mali. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council called for the immediate release of Keita, the prime minister and others.

Source: Manila Times August 19, 2020 22:30 UTC