Junta leader Colonel Goita sworn in as Mali’s transitional president

Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goita was sworn into office as the troubled country’s transitional president on Monday despite international condemnation of his latest power grab, the second coup he has led in nine months.

Goita, who ousted Mali’s interim president and prime minister in May, assumed office in a ceremony at the International Conference Centre in Bamako.

While the 37-year-old officer is not known for being a great talker, his investiture speech will be closely followed by international observers, said one diplomat in the Malian capital.

Following international pressure, the government installed after Goita’s first coup last August pledged to reform the constitution by October, and stage elections in February next year.

Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goita . EPA-EFE/CHRISTIAN THOMPSON

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