BAMAKO, Mali — Police fired tear gas at protesters demanding President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s resignation on Friday as tens of thousands took to the streets for the second time this month in Mali’s capital, Bamako. The ongoing unrest underscored the mounting opposition to Mr. Keita, who has led the West African country since 2013 when he took office months after a French-led military operation ousted Islamic extremists from power in the north. Those militants have waged an insurgency from their desert hide-outs throughout Mr. Keita’s presidency, carrying out frequent attacks on the Malian military and U.N. peacekeepers. As Malians have grown weary of the government’s handling of the jihadi crisis, opposition parties and clerics have also accused the Keita government of corruption.

Source: New York Times June 20, 2020 01:07 UTC