Mali vice president fires detained president, PM

Bloomberg

Malian Vice President Assimi Goita said he fired the nation’s president and prime minister, hours after the two men were detained by mutinous soldiers.
“In light of recent events, I feel obliged to relieve the president and prime minister of their functions to defend the republic,” Goita said in a statement read on state television on Tuesday by Baba Cisse, an
adviser to Goita.
Soldiers arrested President Bah N’Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and took them to military barracks outside the capital, Bamako, after the announcement of a new cabinet that removed two members of the nation’s former junta. The detentions raised fears of a second coup in Mali nine months after President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was forced to step down under pressure from a military council lead by Goita.
Mali, Africa’s third-biggest gold producer, has been a linchpin of international efforts, involving France and the European Union, to defeat extremists in the semi-arid Sahel regional. Deadly raids have spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, killing thousands of people.
Goita accused N’Daw and Ouane of having violated the nation’s transition charter, under which Mali is supposed to hold elections in February. His dismissal of N’Daw and Ouane came hours before the arrival of a delegation of Economic Community of West African states officials for talks about the nation’s latest political crisis.
It wasn’t immediately clear who will lead the nation’s transitional government. Goita, a military officer, led the junta until September, when power was handed over to a transitional government, taking the position of vice president responsible for defense.

Coup attempt endangers proposed presidential elections in Mali
An attempted coup in Mali threatens to derail presidential elections planned for February that are meant to return the nation to civilian rule. The move comes after an August 18 coup saw the ouster of former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and adds to the chaos in the West African country.
There were no other immediate indications that soldiers are trying to take control of the government, with the streets of the capital, Bamako, calm on Tuesday morning. Those responsible for detaining N’Daw and Ouane have yet to make any statement.
The president and prime minister along with other leaders were detained after the cabinet changes left out two members of the junta — including Defense Minister Colonel Sadio Camara —who were behind the August coup. Instability in Mali could be exploited by insurgents in the north and center who’ve staged increasingly violent attacks in the region, despite the presence of a 15,000-strong UN peacekeeping force.
International condemnation of the arrests was swift, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Fontelles warning the bloc is prepared to consider sanctions against political and military leaders obstructing the transition to civilian rule.
“We strongly condemn the coup attempt that took place following the announcement of the new cabinet,” the UN, US, France and others said in a joint statement. The US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs called for the “immediate, unconditional release” of the officials in a Tweet.
Mali’s interim leadership was arrested by “rebellious soldiers,” the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States said in a separate statement.

An Ecowas delegation was expected in Bamako on Tuesday to resume the transition process ahead of presidential elections in about nine months that are intended to return Mali to civilian rule.
Brigadier-General Souleymane Doucoure, who replaced Camara as defense minister, was among those detained at the barracks, according to an adviser to the interim government.
“The crisis is a setback,” J. Peter Pham, the former US Special Envoy for the Sahel, now with The Atlantic Council, said on Twitter. “The transitional set-up was a balance agreed by local stakeholders, endorsed by the African Union and Ecowas. One party can’t change terms and not expect a negative reaction.”
Mali produced 66.5 tons of gold in 2020, making it the third-largest producer of the metal in Africa, according to the Mali Mining and Petroleum Conference and Exhibition. Companies including Barrick Gold Corp. and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. operate in the West African nation.
“We are monitoring the situation,” B2Gold Corp. Chief Executive Officer Clive Johnson said in an emailed response to questions. “We hope there is a peaceful resolution and a commitment to return to a democratically elected government for the benefit of the Malian people.”
Fekola, which is B2Gold’s biggest operation in Mali and produces as much as 560,000 ounces of gold a year, is unaffected by the political upheaval, Johnson said.