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China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that China opposes regime change by force, after Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned and dissolved parliament hours after mutinying soldiers detained him at gunpoint.
Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the comment at a daily news briefing in Beijing.
However, soldiers who ousted Mali’s president and government in the military coup that drew condemnation globally promised to restore stability and oversee a transition to elections within a “reasonable” time.
Reuters reports that President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned and dissolved parliament late on Tuesday hours after the mutineers detained him at gunpoint, plunging a country already facing a jihadist insurgency and mass protests deeper into crisis.
It was still not clear early on Wednesday who was leading the revolt.
But a spokesman for the mutineers, calling themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, said they acted to prevent Mali from falling further into chaos.
The coup was quickly condemned on Tuesday by Mali’s regional and international partners, who fear Keita’s fall could further destabilise the former French colony and West Africa’s entire Sahel region.
Shates in two gold mining companies operating in the country fell sharply on Wednesday, as they sought to reassure investors that their operations were not affected.
