Mali has suffered its second coup in less than a year. On Monday the military placed the president and prime minister under arrest.
President Bah N’Daw and prime minister, Moctar Ouane, were placed under arrest on the orders of Colonel Assimi Goita, who had also led last year’s August coup. In September last year Goita and the military junta which he headed handed power to N’Daw, under whom he served as interim vice president.
The most recent coup was allegedly initiated because N’Daw had not consulted with Goita over a cabinet reshuffle which had excluded key junta allies of Goita.
Goita has promised, however, that elections scheduled for next year in February, will still go ahead as planned.
Mali has suffered from instability for some time now, especially since a 2013 jihadist insurgency in the north of the country. This conflict led to widespread protests last year, which coupled with anger over government corruption and neglect, saw President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita overthrown.
The most recent coup has led to widespread condemnation from the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the United States, and France (Mali’s former colonial master).
According to the Financial Times Mali is heavily reliant on foreign aid to keep the jihadist insurgency at bay. A 13 000-member peacekeeping force from the United Nations is in the country as are 5 000 French counter-insurgency troops. Also present are other personnel from the European Union and international aid bodies which all contribute to Mali’s stability.
[Photo: News 365]