Mali’s President And PM Resign After Arrest By Military Junta
Mali’s interim president Bah Ndaw and prime minister Moctar Ouane resigned on Wednesday, a top junta aide has said.
The resignations came just two days after they were detained and stripped of their powers in what appeared to amount to the country’s second coup in nine months.
Ndaw and Ouane, who were tasked with steering the return to civilian rule after a coup last August, resigned in the presence of mediators visiting the military base where they were being held, said Baba Cisse, special advisor to junta boss Assimi Goita.
A member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union and UN mission MINUSMA mediation mission told reporters that the leaders had in fact resigned before they arrived.
The delegation then went to speak to Goita – who holds the rank of vice president in the transitional government – again after seeing him late Tuesday.
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Cisse said negotiations were underway for the pair’s release and the formation of a new government in the poor Sahel country.
The detention of the president and prime minister triggered widespread international condemnation and the threat of sanctions.
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country has committed more than 5 000 troops to Mali’s fight against jihadism in the Sahel, condemned the arrest of Ndaw and Ouane as a “coup d’etat in an unacceptable coup d’etat”.
Ndaw and Ouane had been heading an interim government with the declared aim of restoring full civilian rule within 18 months.
But recently there had been signs of discontent among the public, with the opposition M5 movement demanding a “more legitimate” body.
On May 14, the government said it would appoint a new “broad-based” cabinet.
The reshuffle, designed to respond to growing criticism, saw the military keep the strategic portfolios it controlled during the previous administration.
But two other coup leaders – ex-defence minister Sadio Camara and ex-security minister Colonel Modibo Kone – were replaced, prompting officers to detain the president and prime minister.
Goita, who holds the rank of vice president in the transitional government, accused Ndaw and Ouane of failing to consult him on the reshuffle, describing this as a “demonstrable intent to sabotage the transition”. He said:
The scheduled elections will be held in 2022.
