The Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, prime minister and other senior officials in Mali were held in custody in an apparent coup by mutiny soldiers. Multitudes applauded the rebelling soldiers on arrival in Bamako. Soldiers could be seen walking the streets after shootings were heard. Even smaller multitudes officially came to assist the soldiers in the capital on Tuesday. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and PM Boubou Cissé are being detained in the military barracks in the capital of Bamako. Previously, the coup d’état troops had taken over the Kati camp. Troops have been angry at their pay, and the continued strife with jihadists–and the displeasure with President Keïta has expanded.
The conspirators stormed to the capital upon taking control of the camp, some 15 km from Bamako. The crowd standing around encouraged them to demand the removal of President Keita from office. Soldiers raided his home in the afternoon and detained the president and prime minister, all of whom were there. The government confirmed that the same soldiers had captured the son of the president, the National Assembly Leader, the international and finance ministers among several other officials.
Mali President: Coups on the Rise in Africa
The number of troops involved in the uprising in Mali is uncertain-as are their requests. A controversy about military compensation has contributed to some news. The Kati camp was also the target of a revolution in 2012 by disgruntled troops at the failure of senior officers to avoid jihadists and Tuareg insurgents taking charge of northern Mali. A video clip went circulating, which on Tuesday revealed a structure that belongs to the Ministry of Justice in Bamako set ablaze.
Which started as a revolt seems to have mushroomed into a coup. The enormous numbers of demonstrators on the Malian streets have demanded President Keita to relinquish for months. It drew analogies between these incidents and 2012 when the government’s mismanagement of the uprising contributed to another coup. Brutal jihadists seized control of the confusion to conquer northern Mali. And the entire area appears to be catastrophic.
The Reactions from the Outside World
In the 2018 Mali elections, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta secured a second term. However, pervasive frustration has escalated with jihadist and community harassment over bribery, mismanagement of the state, and the degradation of the safety situation. Mali is a vital platform for French soldiers battling Islamist rebels in the Sahel. The longtime colonial military responded quickly to the incidents that took place on Tuesday. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office “condemns the ongoing attempt at mutiny,” and his Foreign Minister, Jean Yves Le Drian, urges the soldiers to return to the camp.
The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) said: “This mutiny comes when, for several months now, Ecowas has been taking initiatives and conducting mediation efforts with all the Malian parties.”
In the last few months, enormous crowds led by nationalist imam Mahmoud Dicko have called on President Keïta to resign. The chief of the resistance coalition that demanded the removal of the Malian president was Mahmoud Dicko. Tuesday’s rebellion and detentions have triggered global outrages. Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres has called for the “unconditional liberation” of the leaders of Mali and the “immediate restoration of constitutional peace.” The UN Security Council is conducting an urgent meeting today, Wednesday, following a petition from France and Niger. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairman of the African Union Committee, said that he “condemns unequivocally” the arrests of President Keïta and his Prime Minister.
MORE:
- “IBK, Get Out”: Thousands in Mali Demand President Keita’s Resignation
- Jihadist Attacks in Burkina Faso have Crippled the Nation
