Military junta wants to appoint interim presidents

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Ismael Wagué, spokesman for the military junta in Mali

The military junta, which came to power in a coup in Mali, wants to put a transitional president at the head of the West African state. "We will set up a transitional council with a transitional president who will either be a military man or a civilian," a spokesman for the military announced on France24 on Thursday.

The army is in close contact with civil society, the opposition parties, "the majority, with everyone, in order to implement the transition," said Ismael Wagué in the television interview.

Malian army soldiers occupied a military base near the capital Bamako on Tuesday and then carried out a coup. Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was arrested and then - under pressure from the military - announced his immediate resignation and the dissolution of parliament on Wednesday night in order to prevent bloodshed. The leaders of the coup promised to hold new elections "in due time".

The West African heads of state, meanwhile, sided with the ousted President Keita and demanded his return to office. "We demand the reinstatement of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita as President of the Republic of Mali," said the President of Niger and current Chair of the West African Economic Community (Ecowas), Mahamadou Issoufou, on Thursday. The organization had called a video conference to discuss the military coup in Mali.

"Return to the Constitutional Order"

The members of Ecowas had decided to send a high-ranking delegation to Mali "to ensure the immediate return to constitutional order," said the final declaration read by Issoufou. He warned the coup plotters that they were responsible for the safety of the ousted President Keita and other detained politicians.

Issoufou also announced that during talks with the military junta in Mali, the Ecowas wanted to convey that "the times of the violent takeover of power in this region are over". In addition, the President of Niger called for the "immediate implementation" of threatened sanctions against the coup plotters. The members of the West African Economic Community also announced that they would close their national borders with Mali and close the airspace to the West African state.

Mali's government has been fighting against Islamist militias, especially in the north of the country, with foreign support since 2012. The EU is represented by a training mission, in which the German Armed Forces are also involved, as is the UN-led Minusma mission.

There are currently around 900 Bundeswehr soldiers and federal police officers in the country as part of Minusma. In addition, around 75 German soldiers are currently involved in the EU training mission EUTM Mali. Merkel had said that the events would initially have "no impact" on the German security forces. "But we will do everything we can to ensure that your safety continues to be guaranteed."

pgo / dpa