Mali: from grumbling to mutiny, a predictable coup?

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4 min

Malian President IBK resigned Tuesday night following a military coup. He was arrested without resistance, the mutineers even being encouraged by the crowd. The head of state has been contested by part of the Malian public for several months. So was this coup predictable?

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Until Monday night, it was difficult to imagine such a scenario. The soldiers had so far remained outside the protest movement that has agitated Mali since the legislative elections in April, recalls our correspondent in Bamako, Coralie Pierret .

The M5, a coalition of opponents made up of politicians, representatives of civil society and religious, denounce the mismanagement in the country. In the streets, they have been demanding for several months the resignation of the president . The same supporters of the M5 who came down to Independence Square on Tuesday to support the military movement.

But within the army, discontent is not new. Last year, in November, the wives of the military demonstrated in Sévaré, in central Mali and in the capital Bamako. An emotion triggered after the double jihadist attack in Mondoro and Boulkessi where about fifty soldiers had lost their lives. At that time, the silence of the authorities and the president had been perceived as indifference by some soldiers.and rumors of a coup had been circulating .

► See also: Mali: President IBK announces his resignation following the military coup

Over the past two years, the Malian army has suffered numerous setbacks in the center and in the north of the country. Since then, voices continue to rise to denounce corruption in the army, accused of embezzlement or overbilling.

Last fall, a judicial inquiry was opened on the conditions for the acquisition of military equipment, including two Puma helicopters delivered to the Malian army and then broken down shortly after.

But this mutiny could also be linked to the conditions of advancement in the ranks of the Malian army and the dismissal of a lieutenant-colonel, head of presidential security. This could be the spark that ignited the powder in an already exasperated country.

The army as arbiter of the crisis?

“  We are witnessing a total disintegration of the situation in Mali, analyzes Niagalé Bagayoko, president of the African Security Sector Network (ASSN) and specialist in international security policies in sub-Saharan Africa.  The security crisis, the social crisis, the political crisis is added today a military crisis. We see that every day, this multidimensional crisis can absolutely not be reduced to the fight against jhadist groups.  "

For the researcher, “ we are well beyond the mutiny  ” . “  Indeed, there are elements that suggest a movement of discontent among certain elements of the army, but for me, this dynamic is part of a much deeper movement that was perceptible. There were rumors suggesting that the army could be used as an arbiter in the political crisis that is occurring today in Mali and which, indeed, escapes all the solutions promoted, starting with those of the international and regional community. , ECOWAS.  "

► To read: Mali: the international community condemns the arrest of President Keïta

ECOWAS, which dispatched a parliamentary mission to Bamako whose members arrived this weekend. The latter was to meet in particular with the President of the National Assembly, the M5, the Prime Minister and President IBK. Meetings which could not take place because of the mutiny.

Burkinabè deputy Reine Sakandé, member of the mission, explains that this mutiny was foreseeable. “  We arrived in Bamako over the weekend and already, in view of the interviews we had, the beginnings were already visible. Already yesterday (Monday), some people told us that finishing our mission would not be easy. Because, given that at street level they could not get the president to resign, it would be the military solution that was going to be considered.  "

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• Mali
• Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

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