Mali’s former President, Ibrahim Keita, has been released from house arrest by the country’s new military rulers.
The former president who had been detained during the country’s coup on August 18, a development that led to announcement of his resignation the next day, was released on Thursday after mediation.
Keita alongside 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.
Confirming Keita’s release on Thursday, a spokesman for the junta, Djibrila Maiga, said that the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) which comprised the mutineers said the former president had been released in safe health and that he was back to his resident.
He added that the group was “informing public and international opinion that former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been released and is currently in his residence. ”
“President IBK is free in his movements, he’s at home,” he said while briefing newsmen.
Keita’s release had been a key demand of Mali’s neighbours and international organisations, including the African Union and European Union.
