Mali president, Prime Minister ‘arrested’

Mutineering soldiers in Mali on Tuesday detained President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, one of their leaders said.

“We can tell you that the president and the prime minister are under our control,” the leader, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

He added that the pair had been “arrested” at Keita’s residence in the capital Bamako.

A government official also confirmed to AFP that the duo are in the custody of rebel soldiers.

Earlier, soldiers launched a mutiny from the nearby garrison town of Kati.

Another military official, who also declined to be named, said the president and prime minister were in an armoured vehicle en route to Kati.

West African bloc, France warn of ‘mutiny’

Earlier, West African nations as well as France had urged soldiers in crisis-torn Mali to return to their barracks, after unrest erupted at a key base near the capital.

In separate statements, the 15-nation regional bloc ECOWAS and France accused troops of “mutiny” at a time of wrenching problems in their country, and warned against any undemocratic change of power.

The Malian government said the soldiers may have “legitimate frustrations” and urged “fraternal dialogue in order to remove all misunderstandings.”

The statements gave no details, but witnesses earlier reported gunfire at an army base in the town of Kati, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Bamako, which was then sealed off by troops, an AFP reporter saw.

A soldier told AFP that disgruntled troops had taken over the camp and were holding “several senior army officers.”

An officer at the camp said many soldiers were unhappy with Mali’s political situation, adding: “We want change.”

Reports circulated in Bamako that ministers had also been arrested, but these could not be confirmed.

Convoys of armed men travelling in pick-up trucks – some dressed in military fatigues – also arrived in Bamako on Tuesday and were cheered on by jubilant crowds, an AFP journalist saw.

Key base
The incident coincided with opposition plans to resume protests against the impoverished country’s embattled president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

A 2012 putsch that opened the way to Keita’s presidency began in the Kati base, and fears quickly grew of another coup attempt in the fragile country.

Protesters also gathered on Bamako’s Independence Square on Tuesday, AFP journalists saw.

Some later looted an office of the justice minister, which lies just off the square.

The embassy of France, the former colonial power, recommended on social media on Tuesday that everyone remain at home.

Mali has been in the grip of a deep political impasse since June, with the 75-year-old president facing increasingly strident demands for his resignation.

So called after the date of its first protest, the June 5 Movement has been channeling deep anger over a dire economy, perceived government corruption and a brutal jihadist conflict.

Its anti-Keita campaign veered into crisis last month when at least 11 people were killed during clashes with security forces, over three days of unrest following a protest. (AFP)