BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Malian soldiers took up arms in the garrison town of Kati on Tuesday and began arresting senior military officers in an apparent mutiny that…
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mutinous soldiers detained Mali’s president and prime minister Tuesday after surrounding a residence and firing into the air in an apparent coup attempt after several months of demonstrations calling for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s ouster. The soldiers moved freely through the streets of Bamako, making it increasingly clear that they were in control of the capital city. There was no immediate comment from the soldiers, who hail from the very same military barracks in Kati where an earlier coup originated more than eight years ago. A regional official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to journalists, confirmed that the president and prime minister had been detained Tuesday evening. The dramatic escalation capped off a day of political chaos in Mali, where the U. N. and former colonizer France have spent more than seven years trying to stabilize the country since the 2012 coup allowed an Islamic insurgency to take hold in the West African nation. The unrest had kicked off in the garrison town of Kati, where mutinous soldiers took weapons from the armory at the barracks, and then detained senior military officers.
