Col. Assimi Goita takes over Mali

Bamako (Mali), Aug. 20: A colonel in Mali’s army says he’s now in charge of the West African country, declaring himself chairman of the junta that forced the democratically elected but unpopular president to resign. Col. Assimi Goita, one of the five military officers who announced this week’s coup on the state broadcaster ORTM, declared himself chairman of the junta now in power. “By making this intervention (the coup), we have put Mali first,” Goita said in a broadcast that showed him meeting with the top officials of government ministries and urging them to resume work Thursday.

“Mali is in a sociopolitical and security crisis,” he said. “There is no more room for mistakes.” Across Africa and around the world, leaders have strongly condemned this week’s coup, calling for an immediate return to civilian rule and the release of ex-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his prime minister, Boubou Cisse. The two leaders were detained by mutinous soldiers on Tuesday who surrounded the president’s private residence in Bamako and fired shots into the air.

Under duress, Keita later announced his resignation on state television, saying he did not want any blood to be shed to keep him in power. Analysts have said there were few signs that political opposition leaders were aware of the coup plot in advance, though they now stand to benefit through an opportunity to serve in the transitional government promised by the junta.

The opposition, known as the M5-RFP, announced it would hold a rally Friday in Bamako.