Military mutiny occurred in Mali, president and prime minister detained
Xinhua News Agency, Dakar, August 18 (Reporter Xing Jianqiao) Bamako: According to reports from Malian media on the 18th, a military mutiny occurred in Mali that day. President Keita and Prime Minister Cisse were detained in the military camp.
Mali’s largest portal website quoted security sources as reporting that that morning, a mutiny occurred in a military camp in the town of Kati, Kulikoro, about 15 kilometers away from Bamako, the capital of Mali. Cisse then issued a statement calling on the mutineers to lay down their weapons and start a dialogue with the government. Soon after, the mutineers seized Keita and Cisse and took them to the barracks.
Another source said that the military mutiny was led by Dior, Camara and Dembele, and they have not expressed their demands so far.
An official of the Ministry of National Defense and Veterans of Mali said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency earlier that day that some military officers used morning exercises to instigate a mutiny among the soldiers, and some soldiers went to the arsenal after shooting into the sky.
Residents of Katy Town told Xinhua News Agency reporters by phone that they heard loud gunfire in Katy Barracks that morning.
On the afternoon of the 18th, Faki, chairman of the African Union Commission, confirmed on social media that Keita and Cisse had been detained by mutineers. Faki said that he strongly condemned the detention of Keita and Cisse and demanded that the soldiers release them immediately.
Unless outside the alliance, international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and countries such as France have condemned the incident.
In March 2012, the military mutiny that took place in this military camp in Katy Town turned into a coup, and the then President Toure resigned before the end of his term. This coup also led to the deterioration of the security situation in northern Mali.