Mali junta detains dozens of soldiers over alleged coup plot

Mali has detained scores of troops accused of trying to depose the junta, which gained control in the west African country in a coup, sources said AFP on Sunday.

Since capturing power in Mali via back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, the west African country’s junta has increased persecution of its critics in the face of massive terrorist rebellion.

“Since three days ago, there have been arrests linked to an attempt to destabilise the institutions. There have been at least around 20 arrests,” a Malian security source told AFP.

A different army source acknowledged a “attempt at destabilisation,” adding, “We have gone ahead with the necessary arrests.”

General Abass Dembele, a famous military commander and former governor of the central Mopti district, was among those seized.

“Soldiers came early this morning (Sunday) to arrest General Abass Dembele in Kati,” on the outskirts of the capital Bamako, a source close to the officer claimed.

“They have not told him why he was arrested.”

A member of the National Transition Council, the junta-backed parliament, stated that “around 50 arrests” had occurred.

“All are soldiers. Their objective was to overthrow the junta,” the legislator stated.

‘Grumblings within the ranks’

Since 2012 Mali has been wracked with crises on various fronts, with militants linked to the Al-Qaeda or Islamic State groups carrying out violent attacks across the Sahel nation.

Criminal and sectarian violence are likewise rife, while the economy is in dire straits.

After the coups, the junta turned its back on France, arguing that the country should be free of its former colonial ruler, as have its fellow military-run allies in Niger and Burkina Faso.

It has forged ties with new allies, notably Russia, whose mercenaries from the paramilitary Wagner group and its successor Africa Corps have helped the military fight jihadists and other internal adversaries.

Yet, like Niger and Burkina Faso, Mali has continued to struggle to contain the jihadist threat, while the regular army and its Russian allies are frequently accused of committing atrocities against civilians.

For Malian sociologist Oumar Maiga, this latest purge was “proof that the officers are struggling to control the situation. There are grumblings within the army’s ranks”.

“Some soldiers are not happy with the treatment given to the Russian mercenaries at the expense of Malian soldiers,” Maiga added.