Mali president promises court reform after several killed in protests

Bamako

Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has promised to reform the constitutional court following violent protests in the capital Bamako where at least seven people have been killed. He promised a partial replacement for the court late Saturday night.

The protests were triggered in part by the April parliamentary election results, which were announced by the court and met with opposition. A mission of the West African Economic Community Ecowas is now to help mediate, according to Deutsche press agency (dpa).

On Saturday alone, four people died in front of Imam Mahmoud Dicko's mosque in riots with security forces, he said. The Imam is a leader of an influential political-religious group. At a public funeral, the religious leader called for restraint.

Prime Minister Boubou Cisse said in a statement Sunday evening around 100 demonstrators had been injured. The riots began on Friday evening with a demonstration where three people were killed, according to Cisses.

Several demonstrators temporarily occupied and partially damaged a state radio station ORTM building on Friday evening. They also took action against the National Assembly. In response to reports of several opposition leaders being arrested, opposition supporters had set up road barricades.

Several armed groups are active in Mali and other countries in the Sahel region, with some having sworn allegiance to the Islamic State or al-Qaeda terrorist groups. UN troops began operating in Mali after the country's north temporarily fell into the hands of Islamist and other rebel groups in 2012 until French troops intervened.