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MALI-POLITICS-CRISIS-TALKS
W.African leaders arrive in Bamako for Mali crisis talks
BAMAKO, July 23, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – West African leaders gathered in Bamako on Thursday in a fresh push to end an escalating political crisis in the fragile state of Mali.
Presidents Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast and Macky Sall of Senegal were greeted at the airport by Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, AFP journalists there said. They were due to be followed by presidents Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger and Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana.
The exceptional mission, backed by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, aims to defuse unrest that has claimed 11 lives and stirred fears Mali could slide into chaos.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1707 hrs