Mali’s interim vice president Colonel Assimi Goita yesterday announced that he had seized power as a fresh coup within an older coup unravelled in the country.
Goita was one of the coup plotters that toppled the elected government of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last August.
He said he took over power because President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane failed to consult him about a cabinet reshuffle, which dropped two former coup leaders.
Africa Daily News, New York understands that both leaders have been detained at a military base outside the capital Bamako since Monday evening.
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The two men were in charge of a transitional government created after a military takeover in August that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. They were tasked with overseeing a return to democratic elections next year.
In a statement read by an aide on national television, Goita said elections next year to restore an elected government would go ahead as planned.
‘The vice president of the transition saw himself obligated to act to preserve the transitional charter and defend the republic,‘ the statement said.
International pressure increased on Goita and the junta on Tuesday, demanding the release of Ndaw and Ouane.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned what he said was a ‘coup within a coup’ and raised the threat of targeted sanctions.
The U.N. Security Council is due to privately discuss the latest developments in Mali on Wednesday, diplomats said.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
