MALI VEEP STRIPS PM, PRESIDENT OF THEIR POWERS ON CHARGES OF ‘SABOTAGE’
Mali strongman Assimi Goita on Tuesday forced out two transitional leaders who had been appointed following a coup last August, and promised that elections would be held next year.
In a statement read on public television, Goita said President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane had been stripped of their duties for seeking to “sabotage” the transition, which would “proceed as normally, and the scheduled elections will be held in 2022”.
Army officers upset with a government reshuffle have detained the pair, who were appointed in September under international pressure with the task of steering Mali back to full civilian rule within 18 months.
The president and prime minister were taken to the Kati military headquarters along with others late Monday. The African Union, the UN mission in Mali, the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS and other members of the international community have since called for their immediate release.
The garrison town sits about 15km from the capital and is the former stronghold of the junta.
In a strongly worded statement, the international bodies that make up the local transition monitoring committee condemned what they called an “attempted coup” and stressed that “the military elements detaining them will be held personally responsible for their security”. BAMAKO: