Colonel Assimi Goita speaks to the press at the Malian Ministry of Defence in Bamako, Mali, on August 19, 2020 after confirming his position as the president of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). – The military junta that took power in Mali on August 19, 2020, asked that the population resume “its activities” and cease “vandalism” the day after the coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his government. (Photo by MALIK KONATE / AFP)
May 17, 2022
The accusation against Westerners marks a fresh low between Mali and its old international allies,
Mali’s interim government on Monday, May 16, 2022, said “Western-backed” military officers attempted a coup last week, without providing details or evidence.
The purported foiled putsch took place on the night between May 11 and May 12, the junta that took power in an August 2020 coup said in a statement.
In their place, Russian mercenaries have come in to aid Mali’s military and witnesses said last month that white mercenaries were involved in a mass execution of Malian civilians.
Increased security, including checks at border posts and at entry points into the capital Bamako, have been put in place as measures to identify accomplices, the statement said.
An enquiry has been opened and “detained people” will face justice, it added.
The tensions between Mali’s junta and the West are linked to its failure to hold promised elections in February and speedily restore civilian rule, as well as to its collaboration with Russian mercenaries.
REUTERS
