With Mali's Aforethought

Things continue to get more tense in the African nation of Mali as President Toure has officially resigned...at least, official by some accounts.

A parliamentary official in Mali says the democratically elected leader of Mali, who has been in hiding ever since a coup last month, has turned in his resignation.

President Amadou Toumani Toure's resignation paves the way for a new interim president to be named in keeping with the constitution.

Issa Togo, the chief of staff of the National Assembly President Dioncounda Traore, said Sunday he had just received a phone call letting him know the president sent an emissary with a resignation letter.

The president was just months from stepping down when soldiers on March 21 stormed the presidential palace, toppling his government.

The nations neighboring Mali imposed harsh sanctions and on Friday, the military junta agreed to step down.

But the junta and the President they opposed are gone, so it's entirely possible that the interim President will be able to calm things down.  On the other hand, it's entirely possible things could go straight to hell, too.  We'll see how this goes.  It's possible too that the junta may not actually step down anytime soon, either.