In Mali, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta resigned Tuesday after soldiers in the capital Bamako staged a coup d’état that followed weeks of anti-government protests. Mali’s prime minister was also deposed by coup leaders calling themselves the “National Committee for the Salvation of the People.” In a broadcast on state television, the coup leaders promised to organize new elections.

Col. Maj. Ismael Wagué: “Malians, we are not keen on power, but we are keen on the stability of the country, which will allow us to organize, within the reasonable time limit, general elections to allow Mali to equip itself with strong institutions capable of handling our daily lives and restore the confidence between government and governed.”

The United Nations and African Union condemned the coup and the arrest of Mali’s president. Opposition leaders praised the coup as a “popular insurrection.” Before Tuesday’s coup, President Keïta faced weeks of protests against rampant corruption, police brutality and mounting violence from separatist groups in Mali.