Dozens of Malian soldiers arrested over alleged coup plot against junta, sources say

Dozens of soldiers have been arrested in Mali accused of plotting to topple the country’s military leaders, sources say.

The wave of arrests, which reportedly went on overnight and are expected to continue, reflect increased tensions within the military government, with reports that a jihadist insurgency in the north is gaining ground. The authorities have not commented on the arrests.

Initial reports indicated that Gen Abass Dembele, the former governor of the Mopti region and Gen Nema Sagara, one of the few women at the highest levels of the Malian army, were among those detained.

However, a source close to Gen Dembele told the BBC that neither of them had been arrested.

The source, who confirmed the ongoing arrests, told a BBC reporter in Bamako that he had just left Gen Dembele’s house and he was “doing well”.

The AFP news agency reported that the detained soldiers were allegedly planning to overthrow the government, citing multiple sources within the military and junta-backed transitional council.

“All are soldiers. Their objective was to overthrow the junta,” it quoted an unnamed lawmaker in the National Transition Council as saying.

He said there had been about “50 arrests”, while a security source said there were at least 20 arrests, linked to “attempts to destabilise the institutions,” AFP reports.

The arrests have reportedly been going on over a number of days.

They come amid political tension heightened by the junta’s crackdown on former Prime Ministers Moussa Mara and Choguel Maiga over accusations of harming the reputation of the state and embezzlement.

Mara, a recent outspoken critic of the military government, has been in detention since 1 August, while Maiga is facing judicial sanctions.

In May, the junta dissolved all political parties following rare anti-government protests, which Mara described as a severe blow to reconciliation efforts initiated by the military leaders last year.

The junta leader Gen Asimi Goïta, who seized power through two coups in 2020 and 2021, had promised elections last year, but these have never been held.

In July, the transition period was extended by five years, clearing him to continue leading the country until at least 2030.

Mali has been fighting an Islamist insurgency since 2012 – one of the reasons given for the military takeover but attacks by jihadist groups have continued and even increased.

Alongside its neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, it has enlisted the help of Russian allies to contain the jihadist attacks in the region after breaking ties with France – but there has been no significant improvements in security.

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