Mali's military leader has been promoted to the rank of army general with special title: Colonel Assimi Goïta of the Land Army - the highest military distinction held only by two former heads of state in the country’s history.

It comes a over year after the military government in Mali adopted a new constitution that enhances the powers of the president and the armed forces.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by the Council of Ministers, which published a statement on the website of the Malian government’s general secretariat.

Five other highly influential colonels of the Malian military junta were also promoted “exceptionally” to the rank of four-star generals

Mali witnessed two coups in recent years, one in August 2020 and the other in May 2021.

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