Mali’s Junta Leader, Col. Assimi Goita Declares Himself President After Release Of Interim President, Prime Minister
Leader of Mali’s 2020 coup, Colonel Assimi Goita, has declared himself the country’s President, hours after after stripping the country’s interim president, Bah Ndaw and former prime minister, Moctar Ouane of their powers.
The two ousted leaders were also freed from military detention, where they had been held since Monday in what was seen as Mali’s second coup in nine months.
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The seizure of power came after a cabinet reshuffle which Col Goïta complained he was not consulted about.
Two army officers involved in the previous coup lost their jobs in the reshuffle.
Col Goïta said earlier that Bah Ndaw and Moctar Ouane failed in their duties and were seeking to sabotage the country’s transition.
They were arrested hours after the reshuffle and resigned their positions while in detention on Wednesday.
While in detention, N’Daw dismissed the prime minister before handing in his own resignation letter, according to a military official and a West African diplomat involved in mediations.
Read Also: Mali’s President, Prime Minister Arrested In 2nd Military Coup Resign
Announcing their release on Thursday, Col Goïta’s aide, Baba Cissé said, quoted by Reuters news agency, “we have nothing against them“.
He added that their whereabouts would be kept secret for their own security, adding that Col Goïta said elections will still go ahead next year as planned.
The former leaders’ release had been requested by UN, African Union, Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), EU and US.
They had been held at a military camp outside the capital, Bamako, since their arrest on Monday evening.
The latest events coincided with a visit by a delegation from Ecowas. Last year, Ecowas threatened sanctions unless a caretaker government under civilian leadership took over from the military.
Now that Col Goïta has effectively torn up that agreement by taking charge, it is not clear what the repercussions will be.
However, France, the former colonial power, has threatened EU sanctions against the perpetrators, with President Emmanuel Macron describing it as a “coup within a coup“, Reuters reports.
Col Goïta has asked people to go about their business as usual and promises the military is committed to the transitional deal.
He has been serving as the transitional vice president since September, regained control of the West African country by deposing the president and prime minister in an unprecedented move.
While Col. Assimi Goita pledged to go ahead with holding new elections in 2022 as previously promised, his display of force casts doubt on whether the vote will go ahead without significant interference by the junta that overthrew the last democratically elected president last August.
The move also raised concerns that the new political unrest could further destabilize efforts to control Mali’s long-running Islamic insurgency.
Meanwhile, the situation in Mali today is said to be tense but calm.
