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.
Mali woke up Tuesday to find out that the military arrested the transitional president and prime minister overnight. This happened merely nine months after a military coup overthrew the former strongman President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and strongly condemned by the international community.
The two interim leaders were detained Monday night after being taken by force to the military headquarters hours after a government reshuffle.
President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane spent the night in the hands of the military, who on Monday forcibly took them to the Kati camp, a high point of the defense apparatus a few kilometers from Bamako, a source close to the military said. (Africanews)
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