ANNIE RISEMBERG / AFP / Getty
Bamako Mutable soldiers in Mali on Tuesday arrested the country’s president and prime minister, one of its leaders said. The demand was made after mutual soldiers surrounded President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s private residence, fired shots into the air and deepened fears of a coup after several months of demonstrations demanding his resignation.
“We can tell you that the President and the Prime Minister are under our control,” the leader, who asked for anonymity, told AFP. He added that the couple had been “arrested” at Keita’s residence in the capital Bamako.
Two security sources also told Reuters that Keita was detained.
Earlier Tuesday, soldiers fired their guns into the air at a military base in Kati, a town about nine kilometers from Bamako. An officer in the camp told AFP that the gunfire was an act of “insurgency” and many soldiers were unhappy with Mali’s political situation. “We want change,” the officer said.
The West African bloc ECOWAS said Malian soldiers had launched a ‘mutiny’ and urged them to return to their barracks immediately.
“These myths come at a time when ECOWAS has been taking initiatives and mediating efforts with all Malian parties for several months,” the 15-nation bloc said in a statement. “ECOWAS calls on all soldiers to return to their barracks.”
The situation remained unclear, but news of the soldiers opening fire soon raised fears of a coup in fragile Mali.
The embassy of France, the former colonial power, advised on social media on Tuesday that everyone should stay inside their homes.
The Reuters news agency said the Norwegian embassy had warned citizens that it “was informed of a problem in the Armenians and troops are on their way to Bamako.” Reuters said the statement urged Norway to “exercise caution and preferably stay home until the situation is clear.”
Mali has been in deep political turmoil for months as President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita came under heavy pressure from the opposition June 5 Movement to resign.
Ludovic Marin / swimming pool / REUTERS
The loose alliance of opposition and religious leaders has deep anger over a troubled economy, the perceived corruption of the government and a brutal jihadist conflict.
But the pressure of June 5 to turn Keita around faded last month into crisis, when at least 11 people were killed in three days of unrest following a protest.
The opposition group has since refused to mediate with the 75-year-old president, promising to file charges against him.
Mali’s eight-year jihadist conflict is thought to contribute to current political tensions in the country, with Keita under pressure to stop the fighting.
The government is struggling to contain a jihadist insurgency that first erupted in 2012 and has claimed thousands of lives.
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