MALI  COUP:

Mali's  president  announced his  resignation late  Tuesday,  just  hours  after  armed soldiers  seized  him  from  his  home  in  a dramatic  power grab following  months  of protests  demanding  his  ouster.

  • Mutinous soldiers detained Mali’s president and prime minister Tuesday after surrounding are sidence and firing into the air in an apparent coup attempt after several months of demonstrations calling for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’souster.
  • The soldiers moved freely through the streets of Bamako, making it increasingly clear that they were in control of the Capital City.
  • It was a dramatic change of fate for. Keita,who has tried to meet the protesters’ demands through a series of concession since the demonstrations began in June. Keita,who has broad support from former colonizer France and other Western allies, first came to power in 2013 when he won more than 77percent of the vote in a democratic election.

  • France and the United States also strongly criticized the moves.
  • it was a troubling repeat of the events leading up to the 2012 coup, which ultimately unleashed years of chaos in Mali when the ensuing power vacuum allowed Islamic extremists to seize control of northern towns.
RESPONSES:
  • The mutiny in Mali began on Tuesday morning at the Kati military base, where the president as well as the country’s Prime Minister Boubou Cisse were ultimately brought after being detained. Witness saw armoured tank sand military vehicles driving down the street so Kati, according to an Report.
  • For seven years I have with great joy and happiness tried to put this country back on its feet,”Mali’s75-year-old President said, his face barely visible behind a blue surgical mask. “If to day some people from the armed forces have decided to end it by their intervention, do I have a choice?I should submit to it because I don’t want any blood to be shed.”
  • A statement released by the military leaders behind the coup—who are calling themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People—was beamed on TV screens across the country on Wednesday. They vowed to restore stability in the country and to pave the way for fair elections in reasonable time, BBC reported.
  • We are not holding on to power but we are holding onto the stability of the country,”said Is mail Wague, Mali Air Force’s deputy chief of staff.
PROBLEM:
  1. Huge crowds of anti-government protesters took to the streets once again to celebrate the arrest of the country’s President and Prime Minister by the military.
  2. Protests broke out in the city last month, when the country’s constitutional court over turned the result of the general election that took place in March and April, when Keita’s party did not perform well,the. Guardian reported The Keita-led government launched. aviolent crack down on protestors, which resulted in the death of at least14 demonstrators and by standers, as per reports.
  3. The Chair person of the African Union Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the mutiny in Mali and demanded the release of the country’s President, Prime Minister and other government executives,AFP reported.
  4. “President Ramaphosa calls for an immediate return to civilian rule and for the military to return to their barracks, a statement from Ramaphosa’s office read.
  5. Huge crowds of anti-government protesters took to the streets once again to celebrate the arrest of the country’s President and Prime Minister by the military.
  6. Protests broke out in the city last month, when the country’s constitutional court overturned theresult of the general election that took place in March and April, when Keita’s party did not perform well,the Guardian reported.