Mali's military rulers announced on Monday they would delay a return to civilian rule until March 2024. Mali has undergone two military coups since August 2020, when the army ousted elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Its military rulers had pledged to return power to civilians by February 2022 but subsequently extended the timetable. The country incurred regional sanctions from other countries in West Africa as a result of the extension.
Protests were unleased against Keita as the country battled jihadists, paving the way for the coup by disgruntled army officers in August 2020. A second de-facto coup occurred in May 2021, when junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita pushed out an interim civilian government and took over the presidency.
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