Mali’s president resigns after coup

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta said late Tuesday his resignation was effective immediately and he would also dissolve his government and the National Assembly. For months, protesters had called for his ouster after disputed legislative elections. On Tuesday, armed soldiers detained their senior officers and marched to the capital city of Bamako, capturing Keïta and Prime Minister Boubou Cissé. Anti-government demonstrators were jubilant about his departure, as many criticize his handling of a violent Islamic insurgency that began in 2012.

How will the rest of the world respond? Leaders around the globe condemned the coup. The UN Security Council plans to meet on Wednesday afternoon to discuss a coordinated response. “The U.S. is opposed to all unconstitutional changes of government whether in the streets or by security forces,” J. Peter Pham, a State Department special envoy, tweeted on Tuesday.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report in World Tour about the protests in Mali.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.