Mali: Finance Minister kidnapped, gunfire reported, IBK on the run

Mali is going through a very difficult period due to the growing anti-IBK protests. The opposition cites a death toll of 23 dead and more than 150 injured in previous protests. Added to this is the sudden anger of the soldiers in the Kati camp who keep shooting in the air to express their discontent on Tuesday. But what makes the situation even more deleterious is that the Minister of Finance has been kidnapped and President IBK on the run For now, Senegal7 has activated the network of its correspondents in Bamako in order to be able to deliver information in good time. real.
On Tuesday, angry soldiers took up arms at Kati camp and fired in the air. There were many of them and very nervous, ”a doctor at Kati hospital told AFP. “It shoots, it shoots in the air in Kati.

They are soldiers ”, confirmed a Malian security source on the spot. The finance minister was even kidnapped by people not yet identified, our sources tell us that President IBK is even on the run.

The reasons for this outburst of military anger were not immediately clear. “We are closely monitoring the situation.

The military hierarchy has contacted the troops, we will make an official statement during the day, “a source at the Ministry of Defense told AFP, who refused to speak of a” mutiny “.
The French Embassy in Mali urged caution. “In view of the tensions reported this morning, August 18 in Kati and Bamako, it is urged to stay at home,” the embassy said on Twitter.
Mali, the epicenter of the jihadist threat in the Sahel since 2012, has been facing a serious socio-political crisis since June.

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.
On RFI, Imam Dicko, who is the main opponent of President IBK, indicated that he never called for the departure of the Malian Head of State. On the other hand, he challenges the legitimacy of Prime Minister Boubou Cissé.

Questioned on his possible presidential candidacy, the cleric indicates that he will not be a candidate for anything. That he will remain imam. Senegal7 is closely following this thorny issue of Mali, Senegal’s immediate neighbor.

Assane SEYE-Senegal7