BAMAKO: Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was detained on Tuesday by mutinying soldiers in the capital Bamako, two security sources said.

Soldiers had earlier in the day mutinied at the Kati military base about 15 km outside of Bamako and rounded up a number of senior civilian and military officials.

A mutiny in 2012 at the Kati base led to a military coup that toppled then-President Amadou Toumani Toure and hastened the fall of Mali’s north to jihadist militants, who continue to operate across the north and centre of the West African country.

Keita has faced mass protests since June calling for his resignation over alleged corruption and worsening security.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Boubou Cisse issued a brief statement calling for dialogue and urging mutinous soldiers to stand down.

The United States, France and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) all condemned the mutiny.It was not immediately clear who was behind the latest turmoil to wrack Mali, but the unrest erupted at the very same military barracks where the country’s 2012 coup originated.

In the nearby capital of Bamako, government workers fled their offices as armed men began detaining officials including the country’s finance minister Abdoulaye Daffe.The president, who was democratically elected, has broad support from former colonizer France and other Western allies.

About 100 of the protesters who have called for Keita’s ouster gathered midday in Bamako in a show of support for the mutinous soldiers.

The regional bloc known as ECOWAS that has been mediating Mali’s current political crisis urged the soldiers to return immediately to their barracks in Kati, which is only 15 kilometres from the presidential palace in the capital.

The United States said it was concerned about the situation unfolding in Mali, where French troops and UN peacekeepers have been working to stabilise the country amid the Islamic insurgency that took hold after the 2012 coup.

The US is opposed to all unconstitutional changes of government whether in the streets or by security forces, tweeted J. Peter Pham, the State Department’s special envoy for the Sahel region.

The dramatic developments on Tuesday bore a troubling resemblance to the events leading up to the 2012 military coup, which ultimately unleashed years of chaos in Mali when the ensuing power vacuum allowed Islamic extremists to seize control of northern towns. Ultimately a French-led military operation ousted the jihadists but they merely regrouped and then expanded their reach during Keita’s presidency.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2020