© HpCigarMali military
Mali's interim government on Monday 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.
The accusation against Westerners
marks a fresh low between Mali and its old international allies who for a decade aided the West African nation in its fight against Islamist insurgents but are withdrawing amid a sour political spat.
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.
Comment: Another page in the
Mali saga:
The ruling military council in Mali announced late Monday that it had thwarted a coup attempt last week carried out by army officers with the support of an unnamed Western country.
In a statement broadcast on state television, the transitional government formed by the military council said that
"in a corrupt effort to break the dynamics of Mali's reconstruction, a handful of anti-progressive Malian officers and non-commissioned officers attempted to carry out a coup de Condition on the night of May 11 to 12, 2022. The attempt was frustrated thanks to the vigilance and professionalism of the defense and security forces."
The military confirmed number of detainees is about ten, and the search continues for others to arrest them. Security measures were tightened at the entrances to the capital, Bamako, and at the borders.
Since 2012, Mali has been mired in a security and political crisis caused by an armed rebellion led by separatist and rebel movements in the north of this country. In August 2020 and May 2021, the country witnessed two military coups.
Currently, the country is run by a military council that has turned away from France and its partners and moved closer to Russia. Since June, the head of the junta, Colonel Asimi Gueta, has been interim president.
See also:
Comment: Another page in the Mali saga: See also: