(Bloomberg) -- Malian Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga has resigned Thursday ahead of a no-confidence vote over his failure to tackle a rise in deadly attacks from Islamist militants as well as clashes between ethnic communities.

A prime minister will be appointed very soon with a new government put in place, the presidency said in a statement on its website.

A former head of the country’s intelligence service, 74-year-old Maiga has led the West African country since December 2017 when he was nominated by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Maiga’s administration has struggled to contain a surge in deadly attacks by Islamist militants and ethnic militias targeting civilians and Malian troops.

Last month, gunmen killed at least 157 people in a village in central Mali in one of the deadliest attacks the country has experienced in years. The attack led protests in capital Bamako with thousands calling for the government to find a solution to the crisis or to step down.

Maiga, who was also a former foreign minister, was slated to face a so-called motion of censure on Friday. The motion was filed by by the president of the parliamentary group of President Keita’s ruling Rally for Mali.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bokar Sangare in Accra at bsangare1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Niluksi Koswanage at nkoswanage@bloomberg.net, Katarina Hoije, Jihye Lee

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