Soumaila Cisse, Mali’s main opposition leader who earlier this year was held hostage for six months by extremists and was considered a leading contender in next year’s presidential election, has died in Paris. He was 71.
Cisse died after contracting COVID-19, his eldest son, Bocar, told reporters on Friday.
“The doctors did everything to keep him alive, but that’s the way of God’s will,” he said.
Photo: AFP
The death throws Malian politics into new uncertainty. Cisse was the runner-up in the past three presidential elections and many thought that he had the best chance of finally winning next year.
He was taken hostage by al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in March while campaigning for legislative elections in his hometown of Niafunke in northern Mali.
Following public pressure, the Malian government obtained his freedom in October, along with that of French and Italian hostages, in exchange for the release of about 200 militants from Malian prisons.
It was not known whether a ransom had been paid, although extremist groups have long funded their operations with such payments from European governments.
In an interview after being released from captivity, Cisse told France’s TV5 Monde that his captors moved the hostages by motorcycle, boat and even camel.
He said that he was held in more than 20 locations.
While he said that he was not abused physically or verbally, he described extremely difficult conditions in the desert, saying that he lacked medication he needed.
Cisse said that he could listen to the radio and was angered by news of the August military coup that overthrew Mali’s democratically elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Mali’s interim leader, Sem Ba N’Daw, expressed his condolences to Cisse’s family and supporters on Friday, saying millions of Malians “are in shock” at the news.
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
CONSPIRACIES: Kano suspended polio immunization in 2003 and 2004 following claims that polio vaccine was laced with substances that could render girls infertile Zuwaira Muhammad sat beside her emaciated 10-month-old twins on a clinic bed in northern Nigeria, caring for them as they battled malnutrition and malaria. She would have her babies vaccinated if they regain their strength, but for many in Kano — a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment — the choice is not an obvious one. The infants have been admitted to the 75-bed clinic in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood, one of only two in the city of 4.5 million run by French aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Kano has the highest malaria burden in Nigeria, but the city has long
RSS