African Union calls for release of Malian president

The African Union, on Tuesday, condemned the arrest of Mali’s political leaders by mutineering troops and demanded they be freed immediately. “I forcefully condemn the arrest of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Prime Minister (Boubou Cisse) and other members of the Malian government, and call for their immediate release,” the chairman of the AU Commission, Moussa […]

The African Union, on Tuesday, condemned the arrest of Mali’s political leaders by mutineering troops and demanded they be freed immediately.

“I forcefully condemn the arrest of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Prime Minister (Boubou Cisse) and other members of the Malian government, and call for their immediate release,” the chairman of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said in a tweet in French.

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He also condemned “any attempt at unconstitutional change” while urging the mutineers to “cease all use of violence”.

Faki called on the 15-nation West African ECOWAS bloc, the United Nations and the entire international community to “combine their efforts to oppose any use of force to end the political crisis in Mali”.

One of the leaders of the mutineering soldiers told AFP that “the president and the prime minister are under our control” after being “arrested” at Keita’s residence in the capital Bamako.

Keita and Cisse are now being held in an army base in the town of Kati, an official at the prime minister’s office said.

Their arrest comes after months of protests calling for Keita’s arrest that have rocked the crisis-torn country.

Earlier, West African nations as well as France had urged soldiers in crisis-torn Mali to return to their barracks, after unrest erupted at a key base near the capital.

In separate statements, the 15-nation regional bloc ECOWAS and France accused troops of “mutiny” at a time of wrenching problems in their country, and warned against any undemocratic change of power.

The Malian government said the soldiers may have “legitimate frustrations” and urged “fraternal dialogue in order to remove all misunderstandings.”

The statements gave no details, but witnesses earlier reported gunfire at an army base in the town of Kati, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Bamako, which was then sealed off by troops, an AFP reporter saw.

A soldier told AFP that disgruntled troops had taken over the camp and were holding “several senior army officers.”

An officer at the camp said many soldiers were unhappy with Mali’s political situation, adding: “We want change.”

Reports circulated in Bamako that ministers had also been arrested, but these could not be confirmed.

Convoys of armed men travelling in pick-up trucks – some dressed in military fatigues – also arrived in Bamako on Tuesday and were cheered on by jubilant crowds, an AFP journalist saw.