Mali 'dissolves' military junta, 5 months after coup

LOME, Mali

The National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), which had members from a group who overthrew the former regime, was dissolved by a presidential decree on Tuesday, sources said.

Article I of the decree said the CNSP "is dissolved."

Since the establishment of a transitional government, the Economic Community of West African States, a political and economic union of 15 countries, has insisted on the dissolution of the CNSP.

It was a condition for lifting an embargo imposed by West African leaders following a coup last summer.

The military junta was set up on Aug. 19 after a coup that overthrew then president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Young army officers launched the coup after weeks of anti-Keita protests.

Col. Assimi Goita was vice-president of the transition body, while retired Col. Bah Ndiaw its chairman.

Elections must be held within 14 months, according to the transition charter adopted on Sept. 12.

The charter said perpetrators of the coup would enjoy immunity and "cannot be prosecuted or arrested.” But the Constitution considers coup a criminal act.

Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, and has experienced several military takeovers.