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Mali: Diango Cissoko named new Prime Minister named in the wake of abrupt resignation of former PM Diarra
The interim president of Mali has named a replacement prime minister following the abrupt forced resignation of Cheikh Modibo Diarra.
The political crisis has deepened concerns about stability in Mali, at a time when the international community is considering backing a military intervention, including Malian soldiers, to regain the country’s north from the hands of radical Islamists.
The president of neighboring Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, who has served as a mediator, said Wednesday that the latest developments threaten to only worsen the Malian crisis.
Longtime civil servant Diango Cissoko was chosen late Tuesday as the new prime minister in Mali’s transitional government, first set up after the military coup in March.
Cissoko said his priority would be addressing the country’s problems in the north, where radical Islamists have carried out public executions, amputations and whippings as they implement their version of strict Islamic law.
“It is united and together that we can rise to the challenges that face our country today — a nation amputated of two-thirds of its territory and whose democracy is threatened,” he told reporters after his nomination.
The forced removal of former Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra has prompted fierce criticism from the the African Union and the West African regional bloc – the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) among others.
The president of the African Union commission strongly condemned the recent events in Mali and called for the “complete subordination of the army and security forces to civilian rule.”
The latest developments also have raised concerns among ordinary Mali citizens.
The new prime minister, Mr. Cissoko held a number of positions under the administration of President Amadou Toumani Toure, who was overthrown by mutinous soldiers in March.