Col. Assimi Goita emerges head of Mali junta

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Colonel Assimi Goita: head of Mali junta

Colonel Assimi Goita has emerged the head of the military junta in Mali that ousted the elected government of President Boubacar Keita on Tuesday.

Goita introduced himself Wednesday at a meeting with the secretaries-generals of government ministries.

He chose the title of President.

“Let me introduce myself: I am Colonel Assimi Goita, the president of the
National Committee for the Salvation of the People,” he told the press at the meeting,

Until his appointment as head of the CNSP, Goita was head of special forces in central Mali.

One of the colonels who was constantly mentioned since the putsch yesterday, Colonel Malick DIAW, was named vice-president of the National Committee for People’s Salvation.

The coup in Mali started with a mutiny at Kati Garrison, 15 Kms from Bamako.

President Keita, Prime Minister Boubou Cisse and others, who were arrested by the mutinous soldiers, are still being detained at the Kati barracks.

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