Mali's beleaguered president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, made overtures on Sunday to the opposition coalition which is demanding his resignation, saying he is ready for talks.

Keita is struggling to maintain support in the poor and volatile country over a jihadist revolt and ethnic violence that have claimed thousands of lives, forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and devastated the economy

Earlier this month, tens of thousands of people rallied in Mali's capital Bamako demanding Keita's departure, in a show of force from his recently energised opponents.

That protest followed several demonstrations last month in the West African state over the outcome of recent parliamentary elections, which the president won, as well as over coronavirus restrictions.

A religious hardliner, Dicko was considered an ally of President Keita before he entered politics several months ago.

Last week officials from the UN, West Africa and the African Union (AU) held talks with Keita and Dicko separately.