Mali’s coup leader wrests back control of the government




Malian police gather outside the Bourse du Travail where striking workers gathered to protest the arrest of President Bah N'Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane by military personnel in Bamako, Mali, Tuesday May 25, 2021. Their detentions came just hours after a government reshuffle left out two members of the junta that seized power in a coup nine months earlier. The African Union, United Nations and West African regional bloc are calling for their immediate release. (AP Photo)
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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s former coup leader Assimi Goita took control of the West African country again Tuesday after firing the president and prime minister of the transitional government following their announcement of a cabinet reshuffle without his permission.

While Goita pledged to go ahead with holding new elections in 2022 as previously promised, his display of force casts doubt on whether the vote will go ahead without significant interference by the junta that overthrew the last democratically elected president.

The move also raised concerns that the new political unrest could further destabilize efforts to control Mali’s long-running Islamic insurgency. The United Nations now spends some $1.2 billion annually on a peacekeeping mission in Mali.

The military’s announcement on the state broadcaster Tuesday came a day after President Bah N’Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were arrested by soldiers and brought to the military headquarters in Kati, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) outside the capital. Both men remained in detention Tuesday.

Their arrests prompted an outcry by the international community, which put out a strongly worded statement warning Mali’s military leaders that their actions could undermine global support for the country. That joint statement made by the African Union, United Nations, the E.U., France and the U.S. among others called for the immediate release of the president and prime minister.

The West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS, which also endorsed the statement, said on Tuesday afternoon that it is sending a delegation to Bamako as the political crisis escalated.

The new government announced on Monday had left out two men who were prominent junta members: Interior Security Minister Modibo Kone and Defense Minister Sadio Camara,

Goita, who led the junta calling itself the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, has served as Mali’s vice president in the transitional government formed last September. He has held that position despite initial calls from the international community for an entirely civilian-led transition.

In announcing the removal of the civilian president and prime minister of the transitional government, the military also said that it would be relieving others from their duties including “everyone implicated in the situation.”

Still, the military insisted: “The transition is following its normal course and elections will be held as anticipated in 2022.” Following international pressure last year the junta had promised to organize that vote by next February, 18 months after the coup d’etat shook the country.

The overthrow of democratically elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita came amid mounting military casualties in the fight against Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

The extremists first took control of major towns in northern Mali after the 2012 coup. Only a 2013 military intervention led by the former colonial power France pushed extremists out of those towns. France and a U.N. force have continued to battle the extremist rebels, who operate in rural areas and regularly attack roads and cities.