African Union condemns ‘unconstitutional change’ in Mali

Chairman of the African Union and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday condemned the ‘unconstitutional change of government’ in Mali and demanded the release of its leaders.

In his first official reaction since President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was forced out on Tuesday, Ramaphosa issued a statement demanding "the Malian military release from detention the president, the prime minister, ministers and other Government executives."

Keita said Wednesday he had stepped down to avoid "bloodshed" after he was detained in a coup, whose leaders pledged new elections.  

Ramaphosa called for the "immediate return to civilian rule and for the military to return to their barracks".

He also urged other leaders in Africa and beyond to "denounce and reject" the military-led government.

Separately, Angolan leader Joao Lourenco tweeted that despite the reasons behind Keita's ouster, "we repudiate and discourage this way of forcing the alternation of power."  

The development came hours after soldiers at the base in Kati, a town 15 kilometres from the capital of Bamako, staged a mutiny, detaining an unspecified number of high-ranking military and political figures, including the foreign and finance ministers and the parliament speaker.

The soldiers later arrested the president, along with Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, at their residences.

EU calls for ‘immediate’ release of detained Mali leaders

Separately, EU leaders also called for the immediate release of prisoners held after the coup in Mali, who include the country’s president and prime minister.

“We call for the immediate freeing of prisoners, and for a return to the state of law,” said EU Council chief Charles Michel after a video summit of the bloc’s 27 leaders.

“We believe that the stability of the region and of Mali, and the fight against terrorism should be an absolute priority,” he added.

The EU has operated a mission training the armed forces in Mali since 2013 and in July announced a joint EU special ops force to back Mali’s fight against jihadist groups.

Militants and inter-ethnic violence in Mali and neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso killed at least 4,000 people in 2019, according to the United Nations.

The entire Sahel region is seeing ever more brazen attacks by Islamist groups despite the beefing up of national armies and the deployment of 5,100 French anti-terrorism troops.

Michel said Europe would work in “close cooperation” with international and African institutions involved “so that we can come to a solution that is directly linked to the aspirations of the Mali people.”

Mali in crisis: President resigns after arrest in military coup

Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announces his decision to resign and dissolve the parliament in order to avoid “bloodshed” following his arrest by mutinous soldiers.

Mali’s military promises civilian transition

In a statement broadcast on state-owned television early on Wednesday, a spokesman for the mutineers calling themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People said they had decided to act to prevent Mali from falling further into chaos.

Flanked by soldiers, committee spokesman Colonel Ismael Wague invited Mali’s civil society and political movements to join them to create conditions for a political transition that would lead to elections.

“Our country is sinking into chaos, anarchy, and insecurity mostly due to the fault of the people who are in charge of its destiny,” he said.

(Source: Agencies)

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