Confusion in Mali after gunshots in a military camp, start of rally in Bamako
Malian soldiers in Kati, Mali, August 18. Mohamed Salaha / AP
Shots rang out Tuesday morning August 18 in the large military camp of Kati, about fifteen kilometers from the Malian capital, Bamako. According to witnesses interviewed by Agence France-Presse (AFP), Malian soldiers fired in the air for an unknown reason. “There were a lot of them and very nervous,” said a doctor at Kati hospital.
The French Embassy in Bamako
“Urges” its nationals to stay at home. Advice also provided by the Norwegian embassy, which in a message reported by Reuters refers to a “mutiny within the armed forces”.
The reasons for this outburst of anger by the military are not yet clear. “We are closely monitoring the situation. The military hierarchy has contacted the troops, we will make an official statement during the day, “said a source at the defense ministry, who refused to speak of” a mutiny “.
According to the Monde Afrique correspondent in Bamako, the premises of the Mali Radio and Television Office (ORTM), the official press body, were evacuated this morning to secure the staff. People have also started to gather in Independence Square, the symbolic heart of the protests against power since June 5.
New calls to demonstrate against power
Mali, the epicenter of the jihadist threat in the Sahel since 2012, has been facing a serious socio-political crisis since June. On Monday, the opposition announced new protests this week to demand the departure of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, culminating in the occupation of a symbolic place in the heart of Bamako on Friday and Saturday.
The Mouvement du 5 Juin-Rassemblement des Forces patriotiques du Mali (M5-RFP), which since June has led the most important contestation of power since the coup d’état of 2012, is a motley coalition of religious leaders, political opponents, members of civil society and trade unionists.
He refused last Thursday a meeting with the president, Keïta, proposed by the mediator of West African states, the former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, setting in particular as a precondition the end of the “repression” against his militants.
On the weekend of July 10, a demonstration called for by the June 5 Movement escalated into three days of deadly unrest. The opposition cites a death toll of 23 and more than 150 injured. Prime Minister Boubou Cissé spoke of 11 dead, and the UN of 14 protesters killed.
The current crisis started with the invalidation of some 30 legislative results of March-April by the Constitutional Court, including a dozen in favor of President Keïta’s majority.
Le Monde with AFP and Reuters
