According to the chairman of the African Union (AU), Troops in Mali have arrested the country’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse in a suspected coup.
Moussa Faki Mohamat strongly condemned news of the arrests, in a tweet posted Tuesday.
He said that he called on “the mutineers to cease all use of violence,” and asked the international community to oppose any use of force.
On Tuesday, crowds took to the streets in Bamako, surrounding the capital city’s independence monument. A building owned by Mali’s Minister of Justice was set on fire and looted.
The unrest in Mali’s capital followed reports of an attempted mutiny Tuesday morning at a military camp 15 km outside of the city.
The attempted mutiny took place in Kati, at the same camp that a successful military coup was launched back in 2012.
Mali President Keita has faced growing public discontent since May, after the country’s top constitutional court overturned results from disputed parliamentary elections.
That ruling paved the way for Keita’s party to occupy a majority of the vacant seats.
Disputes over the polls previously sparked post-electoral violence in several districts in the capital and other towns in March.
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