Hundreds of people marched in Mali's capital Monday to protest a new agreement designed to end the country's political crisis.

A VOA reporter in Bamako says the demonstrators voiced support for the military junta leaders who seized power in March but have now agreed to let civilian interim president Diouncounda Traore remain in power.

The protest briefly halted traffic but was otherwise peaceful.

The junta leaders, Mr. Traore and the West Africa bloc ECOWAS reached a deal Sunday that will allow the interim president to stay in office until the country transitions back to civilian rule.

The accord was signed after ECOWAS agreed to give the coup's leader, Captain Amadou Sanogo, all the benefits and privileges of a former head of state.

In an interview with VOA on Monday, government spokesman Hamadoune Toure called the agreement “a positive move.”

He said the junta leader's status as a former head of state does not mean he will hold sway during the transition process.

“It's not recognizing him to have a say, but they [ECOWAS] said he will have advantages recognized to all former heads of state. They invited him to work as a team with the president and with the prime minister for the supreme interests of Mali.”

Mr. Traore took over power from coup leaders on April 12, after ECOWAS used sanctions to pressure the military government to restore constitutional rule.

No timetable was given for the government to organize elections, but ECOWAS has previously said it would likely take about a year.

The constitution gives an interim leader a 40-day mandate; Mr. Traore's was to expire on Tuesday.

Soldiers ousted Mali's elected government in a March 22 coup stemming from its handling of a Tuareg rebellion in the north.