An influential opposition group in Mali rejected a proposal by regional mediators aimed at ending a political crisis in which at least 11 people have been killed this month during protests against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
ECOWAS, which represents countries in West Africa, sent a delegation to Mali last week to try to help end the crisis.
The protesters have called on Keïta to resign over what they say is his failure to halt violence by jihadist groups or address the disputed results of recent legislative elections.
Agence France Presse reports this evening (20 July) that the leaders of Côte dIvoire, Ghana, Niger and Senegal are due in Mali on Thursday 23 July for further mediation talks.
An official from the Office of the President in Bamako said the visit by the quartet is connected with the impasse but did not elaborate.
The earlier delegation from ECOWAS proposed that Mali’s Constitutional Court examine the contested elections and that Keïta create a new government which would include members of the opposition and civil society.
“One-sided vision”
The M5-RFP coalition (Mouvement du 5 juin-Regroupement des forces patriotiques), which has led the protests, dismissed the recommendations.
“[ECOWAS] came to support Keïta and threaten the M5-RFP. All they want is their vision, Keïta’s vision, but not ours,” said the coalition’s spokesman Nouhoum Togo. Further protests were inevitable until Keïta stepped down, Togo said.
The government did not respond to requests for a response, nor could an ECOWAS representative be reached immediately for comment.
Opposition has hardened since police fired on protesters and leading members were arrested this month.
Resistance mounts
The coalition has said that 20 people so far have been killed in protests this month. The Ministry of Health puts the death toll at 11.
International powers fear turmoil in Mali could undermine their military campaigns against Islamist insurgents in West Africa’s Sahel region.
The United Nations has over 13,000 peacekeeping soldiers in Mali, which is the centre of much of the violence.
The opposition had earlier rejected concessions by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta aimed at resolving the escalating political crisis.
Additional reporting by Serge Daniel and Kassim Traoré
* This report was updated on 20 July at 7.45pm to reflect the announcement of a vist by four fellow West African heads of state.
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