“EVERYTHING IS FINE”, MALI’S INTERIM PRESIDENT SAYS AFTER FAILED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Tue 20 July 2021:

Interim Malian President Assimi Goita said on Tuesday that he was doing well after a failed assassination attempt, considering it a “one-time” incident.

Goita was attacked by a knifeman earlier in the day while in Bamako’s main mosque for Eid al-Adha festivities. The attacker was immediately apprehended by the president’s security. A source in the Malian military told Sputnik that two people were detained for plotting to assassinate Goita. The investigation is ongoing.

“Everything is fine, no need to worry … When you are a leader, there are always discontent people, people who at any moment may decide to take action to undermine stability,” Goita said in a video address, released by Malian state broadcaster ORTM.

He believes that the incident was of “one-time” nature.

In August 2020, a group of Malian soldiers started a mutiny at the Kati military base near the capital city of Bamako. Insurgents kidnapped several ministers and high-ranking military officials, including former President Ibrahim Boubakar Keita, who later dissolved the government and parliament.

Last September, the parties agreed on a transition period that would last for 18 months, leading to the parliamentary elections. Bah N’Daw, a former defense minister, was appointed as interim president. However, in late May, Mali saw its second coup, as Goita ousted the new president and prime minister for allegedly violating the transitional charter. He was appointed as interim president by the constitutional court.

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