Mali plunges into political uncertainty as military forces Ibrahim Boubacar Keita out of the presidency.
Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced around midnight on Tuesday that he is resigning from his post saying that he does not wish blood to be shed following a military mutiny that plunged the country into a political crisis.
“Today, certain parts of the military have decided that intervention was necessary. Do I really have a choice? Because I do not wish blood to be shed,” Keita said in a brief statement broadcast on national television.
Keita said that he has decided “to give up my duty from now on.”
It is unclear if the military is now officially in charge of the country.
Earlier, Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse were detained by soldiers in a dramatic escalation of a months-long crisis in the country.
The development came hours after soldiers took up arms and staged a mutiny at a key base in Kati, a town close to Bamako.
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The soldiers were expected to deliver a statement later, while countries in West Africa, along with former colonial power France, the European Union and the African Union, denounced the actions of the soldiers and warned against any unconstitutional change of power.
The events came amid a weeks-long political crisis that has seen opposition protesters taking to the streets to demand the departure of Keita, accusing him of allowing the country’s economy to collapse and mishandling a worsening security situation.
Mali’s years-long conflict, in which ideologically-motivated armed groups have stoked ethnic tensions while jockeying for power, has spilled into the neighbouring countries of Niger and Burkina Faso, destabilising the wider Sahel region and creating a massive humanitarian crisis.
Earlier on Tuesday, opposition protesters gathered at a square in Bamako in a show of support for the soldiers, while foreign embassies advised their citizens to stay indoors.
Here are the latest updates:
Wednesday, August 19
The soldiers behind the coup – calling themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People – appeared on state television in military fatigues, pledging to stabilise the country.
“We are not holding on to power but we are holding on to the stability of the country,” said Ismail Wague, Mali Air Force’s deputy chief of staff.
“With you, standing as one, we can restore this country to its former greatness,” said Wague, announcing borders were closed and a curfew was going into effect from 9pm to 5am.
“This will allow us to organise within an agreed reasonable timeframe, general elections to equip Mali with strong institutions, which are able to better manage our everyday lives and restore confidence between the government and the governed.”
00:15 GMT – Mali’s Keita resigns as president
Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned around midnight on Tuesday and dissolved parliament hours after mutinying soldiers detained him at gunpoint, plunging a country already facing an insurgency and mass protests deeper into crisis.
Looking tired and wearing a surgical mask, Keita resigned in a brief address broadcast on state television after troops seized him along with Prime Minister Boubou Cisse and other top officials.
“Today, certain parts of the military have decided that intervention was necessary. Do I really have a choice? Because I do not wish blood to be shed,” he said from a military base in Kati outside the capital Bamako where he had been detained earlier in the day.
Tuesday, August 18
23:15 GMT – ECOWAS bloc condemns Mali coup attempt
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has condemned the coup attempt in Mali and has moved to suspend the country from its decision-making body, according to Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, who is reporting from Abuja in Nigeria.
In an announcement, the regional alliance also said that neighbouring countries of the West African state are closing its borders and will impose sanctions as the crisis continues.
21:18 GMT – From disputed election to president’s detention
Go here to read how Mali’s months-long political crisis culminated to Tuesday’s events.
20:30 GMT – Guns, rumours and celebrations: Mali turmoil in pictures
See images from the day’s events here.
19:55 GMT – UN chief condemns arrests in Mali
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the arrest of Keita and members of the government, calling for their immediate release, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
Guterres called for “the immediate restoration of constitutional order and rule of law in Mali”, read the statement.
Read more here.
19:43 GMT – UN Security Council to hold Mali meeting
The UN Security Council will hold on Wednesday afternoon an emergency meeting to discuss the current situation in Mali.
The session was requested by France and Niger and will take place behind closed doors, a senior UN diplomat told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.
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19:25 GMT – EU condemns ‘coup attempt’ in Mali
The European Union “strongly condemns the coup attempt under way in Mali and rejects any unconstitutional changes,” the block’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Twitter.
“This can in no way be a response to the deep socio-political crisis that has hit Mali for several months.”
19:00 GMT – Govt official: Mutinying soldiers holding president, PM
Keita and Cisse are both being held by rebel soldiers, a senior government official confirmed to the AFP news agency.
“The prime minister and the president were driven by rebel soldiers to Kati in armoured vehicles,” said Boubou Doucoure, who works as Cisse’s director of communications.
He added that both men were now at Kati. A mutiny in 2012 at the same base led to a military coup that toppled then-President Amadou Toumani Toure and contributed to the fall of northern Mali to fighters.
18:50 GMT – Protest movement says detention of president ‘not a military coup’
The coalition in Mali behind mass protests calling for Keita to resign said his detention by mutinying soldiers was “not a military coup but a popular insurrection”.
“IBK did not want to listen to his people. We even proposed an alternative but he responded with killings,” Nouhoum Togo, spokesman for the M5-RFP coalition, told Reuters news agency, referring to Keita by his initials.
18:30 GMT – State television channel taken off line
Mali state television broadcaster ORTM has gone offline after mutinying soldiers detained Keita and Cisse, a journalist at ORTM has said.
18:20 GMT – Chairperson of the African Union Commission condemns arrests
The chairperson of the African Union Commission has condemned the arrests of Keita, Cisse and other officials.
Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat also condemned any attempt at “anti-constitutional” change and called on the mutinying soldier’s to respect the state’s institutions.
“I strongly condemn the forced detention of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali, the Prime Minister and other members of the Malian government and call for their immediate liberation,” he wrote on Twitter.
18:00 GMT – Russia says it has information about arrests of president, PM
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said that Russia has received information about the arrests of Mali’s president and prime minister, RIA news agency reported without providing further details.
He also said, according to the media outlet, that Moscow is concerned about the events in Mali.
17:40 GMT – Catch up on the situation in Mali
Developments are moving fast in Mali. Here are a few stories to get you up to speed with what has been happening in the country in recent weeks.
17:30 GMT – President, PM arrested, mutiny leader tells AFP
The AFP news agency, citing a source identified as a leader of the mutiny, said the soldiers have detained Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse.
“We can tell you that the president and the prime minister are under our control,” the leader, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
![President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse [AFP/EPA]]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/8/18/df5444ae8acf4065a61999eaf22be975_18.jpg?w=708&ssl=1 "President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse [AFP/EPA]")
He added that the pair had been “arrested” at Keita’s residence in Bamako.
>Another military official, who also declined to be named, said the president and prime minister were in an armoured vehicle en route to Kati.
17:20 GMT – Keita ‘arrested’ by mutinying soldiers: Reuters
Reuters news agency has reported, citing two security sources, that Keita has been arrested by mutinying soldiers in Bamako.
The arrest came after soldiers mutinied at the Kati army base and rounded up a number of senior civilian and military officials, according to Reuters.
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17:20 GMT – Elysee: Macron discussed mutiny with Keita
French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the soldiers’ mutiny in Mali on Tuesday with his Malian counterpart and other West African leaders, expressing his support for mediation efforts by the ECOWAS regional bloc, the presidency in Paris said.
Macron discussed the unfolding situation with Keita and the leaders of Niger, Ivory Coast and Senegal, and “condemned the attempted mutiny under way,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement.
The French presidency did not say precisely when Macron’s talks with the African leaders took place.
16:40 GMT – Protesters gather in Bamako
In Bamako, hundreds of people have poured into the square around the Independence Monument, the site of mass protests since June, calling for Keita to quit over alleged corruption and worsening security.
“Whether he’s been arrested or not, what is certain is that his end is near. God is granting our prayers. IBK is finished,” Haidara Assetou Cisse, a teacher, told Reuters news agency, referring to the president by his initials.
“We have come out today to call for the total resignation of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Because we heard there were shots fired by the military and we have come out to help our soldiers get rid of IBK,” opposition supporter Aboubacar Ibrahim Maiga said.
Protesters have also attacked the justice minister’s personal offices, setting parts of them on fire, a Reuters witness said.
16:07 GMT – Mali PM calls for dialogue
Cisse, the Malian prime minister, called on the mutinying soldiers to stand down and urged dialogue to resolve the situation.
In a statement, he said the mutiny “reflects a certain frustration that could have legitimate causes. The government of Mali asks all the authors of these acts to stand down.”
16:04 GMT – France condemns Mali ‘mutiny’
France denounced “in the strongest terms” what it described as a mutiny launched by soldiers in Mali.
“France has become aware of the mutiny that has taken place today in Kati, Mali. It condemns in the strongest terms this serious event,” Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian said in a statement that also urged the soldiers to return to their barracks “without delay”.
15:50 GMT – ECOWAS urges Mali soldiers to ‘return to barracks’
The West African bloc ECOWAS called on the soldiers “to return to their barracks without delay”.
“This mutiny comes at a time when, for several months now, ECOWAS has been taking initiatives and conducting mediation efforts with all the Malian parties,” the bloc said in a statement.
15:30 GMT: Warnings of possible mutiny
Gunfire was heard at an army base near Bamako, with the Norwegian embassy talking of a possible military mutiny. Soldiers fired their guns into the air in the base in Kati, some 15km (9 miles) from Bamako.
Witnesses said armoured tanks and military vehicles could be seen on the streets of Kati, The Associated Press news agency reported.
Mali’s Keita resigns as president after military coup
Soldiers, who forced Keita’s resignation, say they will hold new elections within a ‘reasonable time’.
Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned hours after soldiers seized him from his home as part of a coup following months of mass protests against alleged corruption and worsening security in the West African country.
The news of Keita’s departure was met with jubilation by anti-government demonstrators on Wednesday, while leaders of the military coup said they would enact a political transition and stage elections within a “reasonable time”.
The soldiers behind the coup – calling themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People – appeared on state television in military fatigues, pledging to stabilise the country.
“We are not holding on to power but we are holding on to the stability of the country,” said Ismail Wague, Mali Air Force’s deputy chief of staff.
“With you, standing as one, we can restore this country to its former greatness,” said Wague, announcing borders were closed and a curfew was going into effect from 9pm to 5am.
“This will allow us to organise within an agreed reasonable timeframe, general elections to equip Mali with strong institutions, which are able to better manage our everyday lives and restore confidence between the government and the governed.”
‘Do I really have a choice?’
Keita announced he was stepping down in a brief address on national broadcaster ORTM at around midnight. Looking tired and wearing a surgical mask, the 75-year-old said his resignation – three years before his final term was due to end – was effective immediately.
He also declared the dissolution of his government and the National Assembly.
“If today, certain elements of our armed forces want this to end through their intervention, do I really have a choice?” Keita said from a military base in Kati outside the capital Bamako where he and his Prime Minister Boubou Cisse had been detained earlier in the day.
“I wish no blood to be shed to keep me in power,” he said. “I have decided to step down from office.”
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There was no immediate comment from Mali’s opposition leaders, but on Tuesday the M5-RFP coalition behind the mass protests signalled support for the mutineers’ action, with spokesman Nouhoum Togo telling the Reuters news agency it was “not a military coup but a popular insurrection”.
‘Malian people are tired’
Regional bloc ECOWAS denounced “the overthrow by putschist soldiers of the democratically elected government” and ordered the closing of regional borders with Mali as well as the suspension of all financial flows between Mali and its 15 members states.
In the capital, anti-government protesters who first took to the streets in June to demand the president’s resignation, cheered the soldiers’ actions.
“All the Malian people are tired – we have had enough,” one demonstrator said.
Mohamed Ag Hamaleck, a Bamako-based journalist, told Al Jazeera there was excitement and apprehension in the capital following Keita’s announcement.
“Some people were sad to see Keita leave in this manner,” he told Al Jazeera. “We don’t know who’s in charge … We don’t have a government, we don’t have a national assembly.”
The political upheaval unfolded months after disputed legislative elections, and came as support for Keita tumbled amid criticism of his government’s handling of a spiralling security situation in the northern and central regions that has entangled regional and international governments, as well as a United Nations mission.
The downfall of Keita, who was first elected in 2013 and returned to office five years later, closely mirrors that of his predecessor. Amadou Toumani Toure was forced out of the presidency in a coup in 2012 after a series of punishing military defeats. That time, the attacks were carried out by ethnic Tuareg separatist rebels.
The 2012 coup, which also erupted at the same Kati military camp, hastened the fall of Mali’s north to armed groups, some of them linked to al-Qaeda.
Ultimately, a French-led military operation overthrew the fighters, but they merely regrouped and expanded their reach into central Mali during Keita’s presidency. And at times, Mali’s military has seemed powerless to stop the fighters, some of them now also affiliated with the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.
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The violence, in which the armed groups have stoked ethnic tensions while jockeying for power, has spilled into the neighbouring countries of Niger and Burkina Faso, destabilising the wider Sahel region and creating a massive humanitarian crisis.
Also in March, unidentified gunmen abducted Mali’s main opposition leader, Soumaila Cisse, as he campaigned in the country’s volatile centre. He has not been heard from since.
As the tensions mounted, anxiety has also grown in Mali in recent weeks about another military-led change of power in Mali, particularly after regional mediators from ECOWAS failed to bridge the impasse between Keita’s government and opposition leaders.
Keita tried to meet protesters’ demands through a series of concessions, and even said he was open to redoing disputed legislative elections. But those overtures were swiftly rejected by opposition leaders who said they would not stop short of Keita’s resignation.
International condemnation
Then on Tuesday, soldiers in Kati took weapons from the armoury at the barracks and detained senior military officers. Anti-government protesters immediately cheered the soldiers’ actions, and some set fire to a building that belongs to Mali’s justice minister in the capital.
Prime Minister Cisse urged the soldiers to put down their arms.
“There is no problem whose solution cannot be found through dialogue,” he said in a statement.
But the wheels were already in motion – armed men began detaining people in Bamako too, including Keita, Cisse and the country’s finance minister, Abdoulaye Daffe.
William Lawrence, professor of political science at the American University in the United States, expressed concern over the potential for more chaos in Mali.
“Mali has three overlapping sets of problems,” he told Al Jazeera. “There’s a severe political crisis that grew out of the botched March 2020 elections. There’s a severe economic crisis, complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and there’s a severe security crisis which has led to the arrest of one of the major opposition leaders, held by terrorists in the North. There is lots of grievances about the failure to contain terrorism, but also the actions of the military against civilians.”
And while the opposition was united in their demand for Keita’s resignation, “there is not very much consensus on what to do next or who should represent Malians,” Lawrence said.
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In addition to ECOWAS, Tuesday’s developments were condemned by the African Union, the US, the UN, and France.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sought “the immediate restoration of constitutional order and rule of law”, according to his spokesman.
The UN Security Council scheduled a closed meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss the unfolding situation in Mali, where the UN has a 15,600-strong peacekeeping mission.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the AU, said he “energetically” condemned Keita and Cisse’s arrest and called “for their immediate liberation”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France “condemns in the strongest terms this grave event”. J Peter Pham, the US envoy to the Sahel, said on Twitter the US was “opposed to all extra-constitutional changes of government”.
China’s foreign ministry said Beijing opposes regime change by force.
