Tension as Army stage coup, detain president

There is palpable fear of a military coup on Monday as the military push towards overthrowing the government, arresting and detaining the president. The Army in Mali had dismantled the Interim Government in the country led by President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane who have been arrested and detained outside the country’s capital.

The interim government was said to be inaugurated under threat of regional sanctions during a military action last August and is being overthrown on Monday in a second coup.

It was gathered that some top military officers had revealed that soldiers have taken over Ndaw and Ouane to the Kati military camp on the outskirts of Bamako, the country’s capital.

Their president and the prime minister were perceived to have made a sensitive reshuffle Ent of government reshuffle earlier on Monday considered necessary response to increasing criticism of the interim government.

The military brass was said to have retained the strategic position controlled during the previous administration in the reshuffle. However, two coup leaders, former Minister of Defence, Sadio Camara, and former Minister of Security, Colonel Modibo Kone, were dropped in the cabinet reshuffle.

Mali is expected to hold general elections in early 2022. The coup has created uncertainty over holding the elections next year.

The capital city of Bamako has been calm since the coup became public knowledge.

However, EU leaders were said to have condemned the military in Mali, accusing them of “kidnapping” the civilian leadership in Mali.

The EU President, Charles Michel, had declared: “What happened was grave and serious and we are ready to consider necessary measures.” He was said to have described the incident as “the kidnapping of the president and the prime minister”.

The United Nations, African Union, Economic Community of West African States, the European Union, and the United States had in a joint statement condemned the arrests, ordering their “immediate and unconditional liberty”.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, also in a tweet, called for calm in Mali, urging the “unconditional release” of the civilian  leaders by the military.