Mali: Military arrest interim president and prime minister

The Malian military, unhappy with the new government announced by the transitional authorities, detained the transitional president, Bah Ndaw, and the prime minister, Moctar Ouané, on Monday in a coup that has shaken the country, plunged into a deep crisis. for years. The capital, which along with Mali saw its fourth coup since independence in August 2020, nevertheless presented an air of relative normalcy on Monday night. “I can confirm that Goïta’s men came looking for me and took me to the president’s house, which is not far from my residence,” Ouane said in a brief telephone conversation with AFP, referring to Mali’s strongman, Colonel Assimi. Goïta, current vice president of the transition. Later, the two heads of the Transitional Executive were escorted to the Kati military base, some 15 kilometers from the capital, where a high-ranking military official confirmed their presence. These events occurred a few hours after the announcement of a new government. still dominated by the military, but from which the officers close to the junta that took power after the August 2020 coup and of which Assimi Goïta was the leader have been dismissed. Within weeks, the colonels had installed transitional authorities, including a president, Bah Ndaw – a retired military man – and a government led by Moctar Ouane, a civilian. Reluctantly, and under pressure from the international community, they pledged to hand over power to elected civilians after 18 months, rather than three years as they deemed necessary. The great unknown was the place that would be given to the military, especially those close to the old junta.The case of Mali exemplifies the risks and challenges posed by the integration of armed groups in the Sahel. The formation of new groups in Mali has worsened the social and security crisis, prompting the creation of ethnic-community self-defense militias that have become radicalized, attacking directly the civilian population. From 2016 to 2020, the situation has worsened until, in 2020, instability and insecurity, together with the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, caused a political crisis that culminated in the coup against former Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. on August 18 and who was in charge of directing the transitional period set at 18 months.After the coup d’état of August 18, the transitional president Ndaw was appointed at the end of last September, who then replaced the military junta called the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, later dissolved, but whose members were appointed in transitory government and who was in charge of directing the transitory period. On May 14, Ndaw dissolved the first transitional government and tasked its Prime Minister Ouané with the formation of a new, more inclusive government to integrate representatives from different political parties and civil society. Faced with growing political and social protest, the prime minister resigned ten days ago and was immediately reinstated by transitional president Ndaw, with the task of forming an inclusive team.In the government announced by the transitional presidency, the military continue to have the ministries of Defense, Security, Territorial Administration and National Reconciliation.But among the changes announced in a statement read on public radio and television, two members of the former junta, Colonels Sadio Camara and Modibo Kone, leave their respective Defense and Security portfolios. They have been replaced by Generals Souleymane Doucoure and Mamadou Lamine Ballo, respectively. The new Government also welcomes -in Education and Land Affairs- two ministers who are members of the Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD), the main political force of the 5-Jun Movement (M5), the group that led the protest that led to the overthrow of President Keïta.In mid-April, the transitional authorities announced that they would hold a referendum on October 31 on the long-promised revision of the Constitution and set a February-March 2022 date for holding presidential elections and legislative, after which they would hand over power to civil leaders. But doubts remain about their ability to deliver, especially in the face of continued jihadist and other violence, renewed political protests and growing signs of social unrest. Mali, a country of 19 million people, and its neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso are caught in a whirlwind of jihadist, inter-community and other violence that has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. in Mali, the Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union affirmed in a joint statement “their strong support for the transitional authorities.” They rejected in advance any fait accompli, including a possible forced resignation of the detained leaders.In the statement, the international community reaffirms its support for the transitional authorities, and asks that the transitional process resume its course to meet the agreed deadline of 18 months.