The African country Mali has plunged into deeper political crisis as the army detained the president and the prime minister of the interim government in another coup within nine months, according to the United Nations and the African Union.
The detention of President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane on Monday came hours after a government reshuffle left out two soldiers who led the coup in August last year and raised fears of a second military takeover.
In a joint statement, the UN and AU called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Mali’s civilian leadership and said “the international community rejects in advance any act of coercion, including forced resignations”.
The United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS also signed the statement. A delegation from ECOWAS is scheduled to visit the capital, Bamako, today, according to the statement.
Diplomatic and government sources said that Ndaw, Ouane as well as Defence Minister Souleymane Doucore were being held at a military base in Kati, outside Bamako.
The news agency, AFP, managed to reach Ouane briefly, and before the line cut, he told the agency that soldiers had come to get him.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern in a tweet and urged calm, while European Union leaders condemned what they called the “kidnapping” of Mali’s civilian leadership.
“What happened was grave and serious and we are ready to consider necessary measures,” EU Council President Charles Michel told reporters after a summit of the bloc’s 27 leaders.
Ndaw, a former soldier, and Ouane were sworn in September last year after Mali’s generals – faced with the threat of regional sanctions – agreed to hand over power to a transitional government in the wake of an August coup that removed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Coup leader Assimi Goita was appointed as vice president and the caretaker administration was tasked with overseeing an 18-month transition back to civilian rule. Two others who were instrumental in the coup – Sadio Camara and Colonel Modibo Kone – were given the defence and security portfolios, respectively.
Camara and Kone were replaced in Monday’s shuffle, although the military held onto other strategic portfolios it previously controlled.
No reason was given for Camara and Kone’s exclusion, but the cabinet shakeup came in the face of growing criticism of the interim government, with civil society groups questioning whether the military-dominated government has the will, or the ability to push through reforms and hold elections next year.
There was no immediate comment from the military or the government on Ndaw and Ouane’s detentions and the city of Bamako remained relatively calm late on Monday.
One military official in Kati said the detentions were not an arrest.
“What they have done is not good,” the source said, referring to the cabinet reshuffle. “We are letting them know, decisions will be made.”
Al Jazeera reported that civilians “are wondering who is in charge”.
“But there is a clear sign here: if you have the president, the prime minister and the minister of defence – the most senior members of government – in a military camp, it seems that the military are showing that they continue to be in charge of Mali.”
Kati’s military base is notorious for ending the rule of Malian leaders. Last August, the military took Keita to Kati and forced him to resign. A mutiny there helped topple his predecessor Amadou Toumani Toure in 2012.
Mali has been in turmoil ever since.
Toure’s departure triggered an ethnic Tuareg rebellion, which was hijacked by al Qaeda-linked fighters.
French forces beat the armed groups back in 2013 but they have since regrouped and carry out regular attacks on the army and civilians. They have exported their methods to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger where attacks have skyrocketed since 2017.
