Mali protesters to cool off till after Eid festivities

Members of Mali’s opposition movement on Monday, announced plans to suspend all demonstrations in the country, as members gear up towards the Muslim festival, Eid-ul Adha.

The leaders of the group resolved to withhold all activates till the end of July. A move they say is not a show of weakness, but respect for the sacred 10 days of Zul-Hijjah, the twelfth and final month on the Islamic calendar.

Meanwhile, one of the main leaders of the movement, Choguel Maïga is still demanding the “resignation” of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

A new African mediation team including the presidents of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou and Côte d’Ivoire’s Alassane Ouattara, is expected to arrive in Mali on Thursday July 23.

This new mediation team is tasked to augment the efforts of the regional Economic Community of West African States, whose mediators proposed a unity government to end the crisis. A proposition flatly rejected by the opposition.