Mali’s former coup leader Col Assimi Goïta has declared himself the country’s transitional president after stripping interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane of their powers.
The duo had also been freed from detention outside the capital, Bamako, where they have been since Monday.
Goita had said on Tuesday in a statement read by an aide on national television that he seized power because the transitional president and prime minister didn’t consult him about the formation of a new government.
Ndaw and Ouane were in charge of a transitional government created after Goita led military coup in August that toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
The African Union and the United Nations have condemned the coup, even as Goita promised to adhere to the transition arrangement.
European countries have also threatened more sanctions against Mali where nearly half the population lives in extreme poverty.
