By Malian opposition leader, Soumaïla Cissé, has died of coronavirus on Friday in Paris, France, at the age of 71.
His passing was confirmed by his family and Cissé’s party, the Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD).
Cissé, who was a former member of Mali’s National Assembly, was abducted on 25 March while campaigning for legislative elections in the northwest Timbuktu region.
He was later released in October after spending six months in the custody of Jihadists. After which Cissé was transferred from Niamey, Niger, for specialised treatment in France where he passed on.
A former leader of the Malian opposition before the fall of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s regime, Cissé was runner-up in three presidential elections.
