UPDATE - Malian Opposition Meets With Junta, Proposes Civilian Transition Within 2 Years - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2020) The Malian opposition coalition has proposed to the military junta that the promised transition to the civilian rule take place within two years, media said Sunday.

Officials from the M5-RFP coalition met with officers from the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) at the Kati camp near Bamako on Saturday to discuss the transfer of power following the August 18 military coup, the French radio RFI said.

"This first meeting did not allow us to get to the bottom of the debate. The document that we have drawn up has been submitted to CNSP and we have agreed to meet for a second working session," Choguel Maiga, an opposition leader, was quoted as saying.

The document presented to the junta limits the transition period to 18-24 months.

The opposition also proposed to create civilian-led transitional bodies and a mixed monitoring committee, which will oversee reforms of the electoral process.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly warned in an interview with multiple media on Sunday that Islamists could benefit from what she described as a weak Malian state.

"This transition must be done quickly and civilians must be appointed to assure this transition to allow for preparation of the elections ... because if it is not done there will be a risk that terrorists will take advantage," she said.

France sent thousands of troops to the western African nation after the previous coup in 2012 split the former French colony in two, allowing Islamist insurgents to overrun the north.