UNITED NATIONS, May 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for civilian leaders in Mali to be released after military officers upset with a government reshuffle detained the president and prime minister at an army camp outside the capital.
“I am deeply concerned by news of detention of civilian leaders of the Malian transition,” Guterres said on Twitter. “I call for calm & their unconditional release.”
President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane lead an interim government that was installed under the threat of regional sanctions following a putsch in August, and the detentions on Monday raised fears of a second coup.
Two senior officials, who declined to be named, said that soldiers had taken Ndaw and Ouane to the Kati military camp on the outskirts of Bamako.
Their detentions followed a sensitive government reshuffle earlier on Monday that was designed to respond to growing criticism of the interim government.
The military kept the strategic portfolios it controlled during the previous administration in the reshuffle.
But two coup leaders — ex-defence minister Sadio Camara and ex-security minister Colonel Modibo Kone — were replaced.
Coup leaders and army officers have wielded significant influence over the government, casting doubts on a pledge to hold elections by early next year.
The reshuffle came at a time of growing political challenges in the capital Bamako and pressure to stick to the deadline for promised reforms.
In BRUSSELS, European Union leaders condemned the “kidnapping” of Mali’s civilian leadership and warned of potential sanctions against those responsible.
“What happened was grave and serious and we are ready to consider necessary measures,” EU chief Charles Michel told reporters after a summit of the 27 national leaders.
Michel said the EU leaders endorsed calls from the African Union and regional body ECOWAS for a return to a transitional, civilian-led government.
And the summit host described what had happened in Mali during the previous hours as “The kidnapping of the president and the prime minister”.
A statement on the conclusions of the EU summit said the bloc was “ready to consider targeted measures against political and military leaders who obstruct the Malian transition”. — NNN-AGENCIES
