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Coup leaders in Mali have released ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita from detention, a spokesman for the junta Djibrilla Maiga said on Thursday.
Reuters quoted him as saying: “He was freed this morning, (and) he has returned to his home.”
“President IBK is free in his movements, he’s at home,” a spokesman for the junta, Djibrila Maiga, said referring to Keita by his initials, as many Malians do.
A Keita relative, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the 75-year-old former leader had returned overnight to his house in the Sebenikoro district of the capital Bamako.
Keita, prime minister Boubou Cisse and other senior officials were seized by rebel troops led by young officers who staged a mutiny at a base near Bamako.
In the early hours of August 19, Keita appeared on national TV to announce his resignation, saying he had had no other choice, and wanted to avoid “bloodshed”.
The release of Keita and other leaders has been demanded by Mali’s neighbours and allies and international organisations.
Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, heading a team from the regional bloc ECOWAS, was given access to Keita last Saturday, and said he seemed “very fine.”