“I strongly condemn the arrest of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the Prime Minister and other members of the Malian government, and call for their immediate release,” Mahamat wrote.
He added that he was “calling on the mutineers to stop all use of force”, and called on the international community to oppose any use of force.
Earlier on Tueday, Malian Prime Minister Cisse had posted a plea against troops on Facebook, asking the military to put down its weapons and talk.
“The government is calling for common sense and a patriotic sense and calls for an end to the use of weapons. There are no issues that cannot be resolved through dialogue,” Mali’s Prime Minister wrote in a statement. t appears to have been posted before its report closure.
On Tuesday, crowds took to the streets in Bamako, to mark the capital’s independence monument. A building owned by Mali’s Minister of Justice was set on fire and looted.
The unrest in the capital of Mali followed reports of an attempted riot Tuesday morning at a military camp 15 km outside the city, confirmed to CNN by a diplomatic source informed by local officials. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the subject.
The source said that the attempted mutiny took place in Kati, in the same camp that launched a successful military coup in 2012.
The 75-year-old president Keita has been facing growing public discontent since May, after the country’s top constitutional court overturned the results of contested parliamentary elections.
That ruling paved the way for Keita’s party to occupy a majority of the vacant seats.
Disputes over polling stations have already caused post-electoral violence in several districts in the capital and other cities earlier in March.
US Africa Command said it was aware of the suspected coup. The US has a limited number of personnel in Mali, who carry out primarily counter-terrorism activities with local and international partners.
“We are aware of the events in Mali. All members of the US Service are being held accountable. We will continue to monitor this situation,” the US Africa Command said in a statement on Tuesday.
This is a breaking story, more to follow …
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