Mali's Keita appoints Constitutional Court judges to ease crisis

Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita appointed nine judges to the Constitutional Court by decree as part of a compromise intended to ease the country's months-long political crisis.

The Sahel nation is in the grip of a political impasse between Keita and an increasingly strident opposition intent on securing his resignation.

Last month, 11 people died over three days of unrest following an anti-Keita protest in the worst political strife Mali has seen in years.

Heads of government from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) stepped in, suggesting on July 27 the formation of a new unity government to include opposition members, while sticking by Keita.

They also urged the appointment of new judges to the Constitutional Court to resolve a festering election dispute, among other measures.

Much of Mali's current tension was sparked in April, when the Constitutional Court tossed out 30 results from long-delayed parliamentary elections - a move that benefitted Keita's party but triggered protests.

Mali's opposition June 5 Movement has repeatedly spurned the ECOWAS proposal and continues to demand the 75-year-old president's resignation.