Tue 18 August 2020:
Reports of a mutiny of soldiers in Mali have sparked fears of a possible coup d’etat in the unstable west African state.
Gunfire was heard on Tuesday at an army base about nine miles outside Bamako, the capital.
The developing situation on Tuesday comes amid a weeks-long political crisis that has seen opposition protesters taking to the streets to demand the departure of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, accusing him of allowing the country’s economy to collapse and mishandling a worsening security situation.
There were reports of senior politicians and army officers being held but it was not clear by whom.
Amid the confusion, opposition protesters gathered at a square in Bamako while regional and international powers urged the soldiers to return to the barracks and foreign embassies advised their citizens to stay indoors.
Reuters news agency has reported, citing two security sources, that Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been arrested by mutinying soldiers in the capital Bamako.
The arrest came after soldiers mutinied at the Kati army base outside of Bamako and rounded up a number of senior civilian and military officials, according to Reuters.
The report could not immediately independently verified.
In Bamako, hundreds of people have poured into the square around the Independence Monument, the site of mass protests since June, calling for Keita to quit over alleged corruption and worsening security.
“Whether he’s been arrested or not, what is certain is that his end is near. God is granting our prayers. IBK is finished,” Haidara Assetou Cisse, a teacher, told Reuters news agency, referring to the president by his initials.
“We have come out today to call for the total resignation of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Because we heard there were shots fired by the military and we have come out to help our soldiers get rid of IBK,” opposition supporter Aboubacar Ibrahim Maiga said.
Protesters have also attacked the justice minister’s personal offices, setting parts of them on fire, a Reuters witness said.
