Mali President Officially Resigns

Mali’s president has officially resigned after being ousted in a coup last month. “I think that my duty, as it was 22 years ago, is to help Mali,” President Amadou Toumani Toure said in a statement Sunday. “I therefore believe that it is very normal, and I do it without pressure and in good faith. In particular, out of love for my country, I have decided to hand in my letter of resignation, which I will hand in to the relevant authorities to allow the smooth transition.” Dioncounda Traore, the president of the National Assembly, will succeed him as the interim president of Mali.