African Union suspends Mali over military coup

The African Union has barred Mali’s membership after soldiers on Tuesday ousted the nation’s president and his government.

A 25-year-old Colonel, Malick Diaw, began the coup that toppled Mali President Keita and his Government.
On 18 August 2020, elements of the Malian Armed Forces began a mutiny. Soldiers on pick-up trucks stormed the Soundiata military base in the town of Kati, where gunfire was exchanged before weapons were distributed from the armory and senior officers arrested.

Amidst the crisis, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita today retired to avoid bloodshed after he was arrested in a military coup, whose leaders vowed new elections to resolve a spiralling political crisis in the fragile West African nation.

The African Union’s Peace and Security Council the suspension of Mali would remain in effect until the return of constitutional order in the West African nation.

It also charged that President Boubacar Keita and other senior officials be released.

In a related development, local heavyweight Nigeria condemned the coup in Mali, demanding immediate “restoration of constitutional order”.
“The Nigerian Government unequivocally condemns the coup d’état that took place in Mali yesterday and demands the immediate and unconditional restoration of constitutional order,” Nigeria’s Foreign Minister tweeted Wednesday.

“We welcome the urgent activation of the ECOWAS Standby force,” it added, referring to the Economic Community of West African States, an influential 15-member political and economic bloc.