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The United Nations has witnessed worldwide condemnation of the military takeover in Mali, forcing President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign.
The UN Security Council is hesitant to call on regional bodies for the immediate release of all government officials and the restoration of constitutional order.
The soldiers said they did so to prevent the country from falling into further chaos.
They say they will set up a civilian government and hold new elections.
Mali, a vast country that stretches across the Sahara Desert, is among the poorest in the world and has experienced several military takeovers. It is currently struggling to contain a wave of jihadist attacks and ethnic violence.
Mr. Keita has won a second term in elections in 2018, but since June has received enormous street protests over corruption, the mismanagement of the economy and controversial legislative elections.
There has also been anger among troops over pay and the conflict with jihadists.
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Reuters
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta won a second term in 2018
The African Union has previously arrested Mali, say military coups were “something of the past that we can no longer accept”.
“Every time you have a crisis and the military people have a coup and say ‘we are responding to the will of the people’, this way of reacting is totally unacceptable,” the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security said, Smail Chergui, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa program.
The 15-member Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has also taken swift action against Mali – closing borders, stopping financial flows and issuing decision-making bodies.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted his conviction, and French President Emmanuel Macron insisted on a return to civilian rule saying “the fight against terrorist groups and the defense of democracy and the rule of law are inseparable”.
Who are the coups?
Reports in Mali say that Colonel Assimi Goita has been confirmed as president of the new military junta, which calls itself the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP).
He met with senior officials earlier on Wednesday and told them: “We have no political ambitions, we are soldiers, our aim is to transfer power quickly. The state will continue, we assure you of our support to work in peace, we want to reassure you, “reports the Malian newspaper Journal du Mali.
Other members of the junta identified in the report include Col Malick Diaw, CNSP Vice President, and Col Ismaël Wagué, the Air Force State President, who had previously read a statement on behalf of the group.
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The newspaper quotes on local websites as saying that four civilians were killed by gunfire during the military takeover, although this has been denied by coups.
In another development, the head of the Mali opposition M5 movement, Conservative Imam Mahmoud Dicko, announced that he would withdraw from politics after meeting with the coups. No reasons were given.
Mr. Dicko has called for reforms after rejecting Mr Keïta’s concessions.
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How did the coup take place?
It appears that on Tuesday night the military took control of the Kati army camp, about 15 km (nine miles) from Bamako, on Tuesday. They then marched to the capital, cheering as crowds gathered to demand the dismissal of Mr. Keita.
The soldiers then stormed the presidential building, arrested Mr Keita and his prime minister and took them to Kati Camp. The president’s son, the speaker of the National Assembly, the ministers of foreign affairs and finance were also reported to have been detained.
Appearing on TV on Tuesday night, President Keita said he would resign because he did not want “blood to be spilled to keep me in power”.
Although banks and offices were closed in Bamako on Wednesday, there were signs of daily life. Some residents had gathered to carry out the coup, while some were worried about who would now rule the country, reports journalist Mohamed Salaha.
It was the war in Libya, almost a decade ago, that put Mali along the path to chaos.
Weapons from Libya flood the Sahara Desert, fueling a separatist conflict in northern Mali that morphed into an Islamist militant offensive, leading to a coup in the capital Bamako.
It’s been a mess ever since, in a landlocked nation that had been a West African success story.
Today, French troops, American drones, UN peacekeepers, and British helicopters are all – and for the most part not – trying to strengthen security, not only in Mali, but across an entire region that is increasingly threatened by Islamist insurgents and other conflicts.
This latest military coup in Bamako seems to be a response to those security challenges, but also to corruption, contested elections, and political drift.
The coup itself probably seems to repair nothing.
But it marks a trusted truth – that although foreign intervention has its use, the key to repairing a nation like Mali lies in its own hands, and with its own faltering democratic institutions.
