Ousted Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita left the country on Saturday for medical treatment in Abu Dhabi, an adviser said, as talks about a transition back to civilian rule following last month’s military coup got off to a chaotic start, Trend reports citing Reuters.
Keita, 75, was hospitalised in the capital Bamako on Tuesday, six days after he was released from detention by the ruling junta, which seized power on Aug. 18.
His former chief of staff, Mamadou Camara, told Reuters that Keita left Bamako on Saturday evening aboard a plane chartered by the United Arab Emirates at the request of Mali’s ruling junta.
“It is a medical visit of between 10 and 15 days,” Camara said.
Keita’s medical condition is unclear. He had a benign tumour removed from his neck in 2016.