New President of Mali Vows To Unite the Nation

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won 77.6 percent of the vote

Mali's newly sworn in leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita pledged on Wednesday (03.09.2013) to unite the deeply divided West African nation. The ceremony marked the return to civilian rule after a March,2012 coup.

'IBK' as he is popularly known, also promised to bring peace to Mali, after months of political crisis and conflict that threatened to tear the country apart.

Keita, a former prime minister, began his five-year term in the presence of outgoing transitional leader Dioncounda Traore, Malian politicians, diplomats and military personnel as he took the presidential oath at a ceremony in the capital Bamako.