Is the political situation confused in Mali or is this in fact an opportunity for the authorities to organize a purge? The junta said on Monday evening that it had thwarted a coup attempt last week led by officers and supported by a Western state.
The statement, read on state television, gives almost no details on what would have happened. It reports arrests without further details. He indicates that controls have been reinforced at the exits from the capital Bamako and at the borders. No information had filtered until Monday evening on an attempted coup that would have occurred last week.
A junta now turned towards Russia
Mali, plunged into deep security and political crises since the outbreak of independence and jihadist insurgencies in 2012 in the North, was the scene of two coups led by the same group of colonels in August 2020 and May 2021. The country is now ruled by a junta that has turned away from France and its partners, and has turned to Russia in an attempt to stem the spread of jihadism that has spread to the center and neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. . The military under the leadership of Colonel Assimi Goïta renounced their initial commitment to return power to civilians after elections scheduled for February 2022.
“With the unhealthy intention of breaking the dynamics of rebuilding Mali, a small group of anti-progressive Malian officers and non-commissioned officers attempted a coup on the night of May 11 to 12, 2022,” said the press release. transitional government installed by the military. “These soldiers were supported by a Western state,” he adds without further details. “The attempt was foiled thanks to the vigilance and professionalism of the defense and security forces”.
“The situation is under control”
Those arrested will be brought to justice, he said. The document is however silent on their identity and the place of their detention. A military official speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject spoke of a dozen arrests made, and indicated that others were in progress.
“All necessary means” are mobilized for the investigation and the search for accomplices, says the government press release. The government assures “that the situation is under control and invites the populations to calm down”.
