Troops Arrested the President and Prime Minister in Mali

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According to a statement broadcast by the national broadcaster ORTM, Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced that he will resign immediately.

The President stated that he has no choice but to avoid bloodshed and that the country’s National Assembly and the government will now be dissolved.

According to the Chairman of the African Union, the troops arrested the President and Prime Minister Bub Cisse on suspicion of a coup d’état earlier on Tuesday.

Moussa Faki Mahamat condemned the arrest in a tweet on Tuesday.

Mahama wrote: “I strongly condemn the arrest of President Ibrahim Bubakar Keita, the Prime Minister and other members of the Malian government, and call for their immediate release.”

He added that he called on “rebels to stop all use of violence” and asked the international community to oppose any use of force.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation.

Diplomatic sources say that France and Niger have asked the United Nations to hold talks. The source is anonymous because they have no right to speak on this topic.

Earlier on Tuesday, Malian Prime Minister Cisse issued an appeal to the troops on Facebook, asking the military to lay down its weapons and engage in dialogue.

The Prime Minister of Mali wrote in a statement: “The government calls for rationality and patriotism and calls for the cessation of the use of weapons. There are no problems that cannot be resolved in dialogue.” Detention.

On Tuesday, crowds gathered on the streets of Bamako around the capital’s independence monument. In the city’s footage, when the news of the alleged coup d’état was seen, protesters on motorcycles could be seen cheering, while some opposition supporters celebrated with Mali flags and vuvuzela.

In other places, more than a thousand people gathered outside the presidential palace, although they were prevented from entering by soldiers. However, the protesters did enter and robbed the empty house of Keita’s son Karim, which is located nearby. Karim Keita (Karim Keita) resigned as head of the National Defense Committee in July due to violent conflict and called on his father to resign.

A building owned by the Minister of Justice of Mali was also looted and set on fire.

Diplomatic sources confirmed to CNN that the unrest in Mali’s capital came after reports of an attempted mutiny in a military camp 15 kilometres outside the city on Tuesday morning. The source spoke on an anonymous basis because they have no right to speak on this topic.