COUP: Mali President, Prime Minister and Defense Minister Arrested by Military

Mali’s interim President and Prime Minister have been taken to a military base outside the capital Bamako following a cabinet reshuffle on Monday, multiple diplomatic and government sources told the Reuters and AFP news agencies.

PM Ouane told AFP by phone that soldiers affiliated with interim Vice President Colonel Assimi Goita – who was leader of a coup last year – “came to take me”.

A senior member of the military, who declined to be named, confirmed that  on Monday President Bah Ndaw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane as well as defence minister Souleymane Doucoure were all taken to the Kati military base.

The arrests followed a sensitive government reshuffle in the unstable West African nation announced on Monday afternoon.

Controversially, army figures have held key roles in Mali’s interim government, which was installed after the August coup which toppled elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

A new government of 25 ministers was announced on Monday in response to growing criticisms of the army’s overbearing influence.

The military kept the strategic portfolios it controlled during the previous administration in the reshuffle.