Mali". On 30 October 2016, Dicko announced that he had received, after eight months of discussions, a letter from Iyad Ag Ghaly in which Ag Ghaly announced "the end of attacks throughout the territory". But Ansar Dine denied these statements on 2 November. After having supported Keïta, Dicko moved to the opposition around the end of 2017. At his urging, 30,000-50,000 people demonstrated against the government in Bamako on 5 April 2019. On 7 September 2019, as others speculated about his presidential ambitions, he launched CMAS, a political movement that follows his Islamist line. As his influence grew, some analysts viewed him as a contender to win Mali's presidency in the 2023 election. In June 2020, the CMAS united with the 5 June Movement/Gathering of Patriotic Forces (Mouvement du 5 juin / Rassemblement des Forces Patriotiques, M5-RFP). According to Aly Tounkara's analysis, "Many opponents who would have had no chance of gaining power have decided to rely on the imam and his thousands of followers, giving him great political power". On 19 June 2020, he organized a demonstration of tens of thousands of faithful and supporters to ask the President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, to resign. On 10 July, during the third day of mobilization, clashes occurred, causing several deaths; leaders of the opposition coalition were arrested and then released. On 18 August, during a coup d'état, Keïta and the Prime Minister, Boubou Cissé, were arrested by a military garrison. A few hours later, the President of the Republic, still detained by the army in a military camp, announced his resignation as well as the dissolution of the government and of the Parliament. On 19 August, Dicko announced that he was leaving politics. References 1950s births Living people People from Tombouctou Region Malian Salafis Malian imams Fula people 21st-century Malian people