African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean Claude Brou, have strongly condemned the arrest on Monday of the Malian Transition President, Bah N’Daw, and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, as well as some of their collaborators.
In a joint statement in Bamako, they said: “this act of extreme gravity can in no way be tolerated under the relevant provisions of ECOWAS and the African Union”, and asked the military to return to the barracks.
The two leaders indicated that they are following “with deep concern the evolution of the political situation in Mali”, besides demanding “the immediate and unconditional release of the authorities kept in the barracks.”
They encouraged the Malian parties to toe the spirit of dialogue and responsibility to settle misunderstandings surrounding the establishment of the government.
“In any case, respect for the political consensus which has so far founded the Transition in Mali is the only way to take,” they stated, calling “their international partners for active solidarity with the AU and ECOWAS in support of the success of the Transition in Mali”.
On Monday, after the announcement of the list of the new government team, disgruntled soldiers arrested the President of the Transition and the Prime Minister and took them to the Kati Military Camp, about 15km from the capital, Bamako.
Colonels Sadio Camara and Modibo Koné, authors of the August 18 coup against former Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Kéita, are no longer part of the government, having been replaced by two generals in the ministries of Defence and Security, which is apparently at the origin of this incident. (PANA/NAN)
