Malian officers upset with yesterday's government reshuffle have detained the president and prime minister at an army camp outside the capital, triggering broad international condemnation and demands for their immediate release.
In a statement read on public television, former army officer now vice president, Assimi Goita, said President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane had been stripped of their duties for seeking to "sabotage" the transition, which would "proceed as normally, and the scheduled elections will be held in 2022."
President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane had been leading an interim government that was installed under the threat of regional sanctions following a coup d'état in August. The detentions on Monday raised fears of a second coup.
Senior officials told the French AFP news agency that soldiers had taken Ndaw and Ouane to the Kati military camp on the outskirts of the capital Bamako.
Their detentions followed a government reshuffle earlier on Monday that was designed to respond to growing criticism of the interim government.
The military kept the strategic portfolios it controlled during the previous administration in the reshuffle.
But two coup leaders -- ex-defence minister Sadio Camara and ex-security minister Colonel Modibo Kone -- were replaced.
Army 'significantly influencing' government
Coup leaders and army officers have wielded significant influence over the government, casting doubts on a pledge to hold elections by early next year.
The reshuffle came at a time of growing political challenges in the capital Bamako and pressure to stick to the deadline for promised reforms.
Speculation of a coup swirled around Bamako late on Monday, but the city remained relatively calm.
Briefly reached by phone before the line cut, Prime Minister Ouane told AFP that soldiers "came to get him".
EU leaders condemned what they called the "kidnapping" of Mali's civilian leadership, said council president Charles Michel.
🔴 LIVE NOW: follow the press conference after the first day of the special meeting of the European Council #EUCO https://t.co/Kr2ooYO8QI
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) May 24, 2021
"What happened was grave and serious and we are ready to consider necessary measures," Michel told reporters after a summit of the bloc's 27 leaders, describing events as "the kidnapping of the president and the prime minister".
Earlier, a joint statement by the United Nations, African Union, Economic Community of West African States, the European Union and the United States condemned the arrests and called for the "immediate and unconditional liberty" of those detained.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted a call for calm, and urged the "unconditional release" of the leaders.
I am deeply concerned by news of detention of civilian leaders of the Malian transition. I call for calm & their unconditional release. My Special Representative is working closely with ECOWAS, the AU & all other international actors supporting the ongoing political transition.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 25, 2021
Civil and social unrest rampant
The opposition M5 movement -- which spearheaded protests against ousted president Keita in 2020 -- this month urged dissolving the interim government and demanded a "more legitimate" body.
But the M5 is divided. Two members of the Union for the Republic and Democracy party -- part of the M5 -- were appointed interim ministers in Monday's reshuffle.
Civil disputes in Mali are also adding to the pressure created by political feuding.
The country's largest union, UNTM, called a second week of strikes Monday after pay negotiations with the interim government collapsed.
