BAMAKO 24 Jul (ANA) - Talks led by five West African presidents to resolve Mali's political crisis haved ended without a deal between the government and the opposition.

 

The opposition coalition wants President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to resign, saying his government has failed to tackle armed militias, corruption and the fallout from disputed parliamentary elections in March.

 

Thursday's delegation of presidents were representing regional bloc Ecowas, which has now announced that an extraordinary summit of all West Africa heads of state will be held on Monday.

 

While the opposition coalition says President Keïta must go and a transitional government be created, Ecowas has ruled out removing the president from office saying any change of government must be through constitutional provisions.

 

The current head of Ecowas, Niger's President Muhammadou Issoufou, says "strong measures" will be taken to help resolve the crisis at the summit next week.

 

A statement from the Nigerian presidency quotes Mr Issoufou as saying ''allowing a political crisis to fester in Mali would affect security in West Africa, especially neighbouring countries''.(ANA)

FA/ANA/24 July 2020--------