Mali's ruling junta arrests generals, French national in alleged coup plot
Mali's government, under a military junta, arrested two generals and a French national, accusing them of a plot to destabilise the country.
The detained include General Abass Dembele, with authorities claiming the conspiracy was thwarted and 11 people were taken into custody.
Mali has faced over a decade of instability due to Islamist insurgencies and coups since 2020, which have shifted power to the junta.
Mali's junta-led government has arrested two generals and a French national, accusing them of participating in an alleged plot to destabilise the country.
Those detained include General Abass Dembele, former governor of the central Mopti region, the junta said, according to Bloomberg.
Minister for Security and Civil Protection General Daoud Aly Mohammedine said that the 'conspiracy was thwarted' and that 11 people were taken into custody on August 1.
Mali has endured over a decade of turmoil marked by Islamist insurgencies in its arid north, along with political instability that culminated in a series of coups in 2020 and 2021 that brought the current president, General Assimi Goita, to power.
Goita's junta tightens power grip
Since assuming power, the junta has cracked down on political opponents and mining executives, banned political parties, and shifted towards closer ties with Russia, Turkey, and Iran, turning away from traditional Western allies such as the US and France.
Under pressure from Mali's new leadership, US and France withdrew their troops from the country, ending years of joint operations against Islamist militants.
The latest arrests come after two former prime ministers were detained: Moussa Mara, who accused the junta of worsening Mali's debt through regional borrowing, and Choguel Kokalla Maiga, held on charges of embezzling public funds.
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The Hill
3 minutes ago
- The Hill
Summit puts Putin back on the global stage and Trump echoes a Kremlin position
In Alaska, President Vladimir Putin walked on a red carpet, shook hands and exchanged smiles with his American counterpart. Donald Trump ended the summit praising their relationship and calling Russia 'a big power … No. 2 in the world,' albeit admitting they didn't reach a deal on ending the war in Ukraine. By Saturday morning Moscow time, Trump appeared to have abandoned the idea of a ceasefire as a step toward peace — something he and Ukraine had pushed for months -– in favor of pursuing a full-fledged 'Peace Agreement' to end the war, echoing a long-held Kremlin position. The 'severe consequences' he threatened against Moscow for continuing hostilities were nowhere in sight. On Ukraine's battlefields, Russian troops slowly grinded on, with time on their side. The hastily arranged Alaska summit 'produced nothing for Mr. Trump and gave Mr. Putin most of what he was looking for,' said Laurie Bristow, a former British ambassador to Russia. The summit spectacle Putin's visit to Alaska was his first to the United States in 10 years and his first to a Western country since invading Ukraine in 2022 and plunging U.S.-Russia relations to the lowest point since the Cold War. Crippling sanctions followed, along with efforts to shun Russia on the global stage. The International Criminal Court in 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Putin on accusations of war crimes, casting a shadow on his foreign trips and contacts with other world leaders. Trump's return to the White House appeared to upend all that. He warmly greeted Putin, even clapping for him, on a red carpet as U.S. warplanes flew overhead as the world watched. The overflight was both 'a show of power' and a gesture of welcome from the U.S. president to the Kremlin leader, 'shown off to a friend,' said retired Col. Peer de Jong, a former aide to two French presidents and author of 'Putin, Lord of War.' Russian officials and media revelled in the images of the pomp-filled reception Putin received in Alaska, which pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda described as signalling 'utmost respect.' It called the meeting a 'huge diplomatic victory' for Putin, whose forces will have time to make more territorial gains. The reception contrasted starkly with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's March visit to the Oval Office, where Trump treated him like a 'representative of a rogue state,' said Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the German parliament. Putin has 'broken out of international isolation,' returning to the world stage as one of two global leaders and 'wasn't in the least challenged' by Trump, who ignored the arrest warrant for Putin from the ICC, Bristow told The Associated Press. For Putin, 'mission accomplished' Putin 'came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war,' said Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. 'He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.' In recent months, Trump has pressed for a ceasefire, something Ukraine and its allies supported and insisted was a prerequisite for any peace talks. The Kremlin has pushed back, however, arguing it's not interested in a temporary truce -– only in a long-term peace agreement. Moscow's official demands for peace so far have remained nonstarter for Kyiv: It wants Ukraine to cede four regions that Russia only partially occupies, along with the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine also must renounce its bid to join NATO and shrink its military, the Kremlin says. After Alaska, Trump appeared to echo the Kremlin's position on a ceasefire, posting on social media that after he spoke to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, 'it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.' In a statement after the Trump call, the European leaders did not address whether a peace deal was preferable to a ceasefire. The summit took place a week after a deadline Trump gave the Kremlin to stop the war or face additional sanctions on its exports of oil in the form of secondary tariffs on countries buying it. Trump already imposed those tariffs on India, and if applied to others, Russian revenues 'would probably be impacted very badly and very quickly,' said Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory Ltd. consultancy. In the days before Alaska, Trump also threatened unspecified 'very severe consequences' if Putin does not agree to stop the war. But whether those consequences will materialize remains unclear. Asked about that in a post-summit interview with Fox News Channel, Trump said he doesn't need 'to think about that right now,' and suggested he might revisit the idea in 'two weeks or three weeks or something.' More pressure on Ukraine In a statement after the summit, Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an 'understanding' on Ukraine and warned Europe not to 'torpedo the nascent progress.' But Trump said 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' In his Fox interview, Trump insisted the onus going forward might be on Zelenskyy 'to get it done,' but said there would also be some involvement from European nations. Zelenskyy will meet Trump at the White House on Monday. Both raised the possibility of a trilateral summit with Putin, but Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said it wasn't discussed in Alaska. The Kremlin has long maintained that Putin would only meet Zelenskyy in the final stages of peace talks. 'Trump now appears to be shifting responsibility towards Kyiv and Europe, while still keeping a role for himself,' Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center wrote on X. Fiona Hill, a senior adviser on Russia to Trump during his first administration, told AP that he has met his match because 'Putin is a much bigger bully.' Trump wants to be the negotiator of 'a big real estate deal between Russia and Ukraine,' she said, but in his mind he can 'apply real pressure' only to one side — Kyiv. Hill said she expects Trump to tell Zelenskyy that 'you're really going to have to make a deal' with Putin because Trump wants the conflict off his plate and is not prepared to put pressure on the Russian president. Far from the summit venue and its backdrop saying 'Pursuing Peace,' Russia continued to bombard Ukraine and make incremental advances on the over 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front. Russia fired a ballistic missile and 85 drones overnight. Ukraine shot down or intercepted 61 drones, its air force said. Front-line areas of Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Chernihiv were attacked. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had taken control of the village of Kolodyazi in the Donetsk region, along with Vorone in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine did not comment on the claims. Russian forces are closing in on the strongholds of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2022 but still only partially controls. 'Unless Mr. Putin is absolutely convinced that he cannot win militarily, the fighting is not going to stop,' said Bristow, the former ambassador. 'That's the big takeaway from the Anchorage summit.'
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Putin got a warm Trump meeting. Europe is afraid Zelenskyy won't.
While publicly Europe and Ukraine have appeared upbeat, privately officials were wary of Putin's red carpet welcome back to the West, where he secured the veneer of global legitimacy without making the kind of gestures toward peace the U.S., Europe and Ukraine have sought. 'Worries have been there all the way this year, and yesterday's meeting did not really help,' a European official said. Trump's position on the war has yo-yoed in recent weeks. While he had for months blamed Ukraine for the conflict, he had been more critical of Putin and Russia in the lead-up to the summit. He even said Putin would face 'severe consequences,' if he did not agree to stop the war after Friday's gathering. But after several hours of meetings with Putin in Alaska, Trump backtracked on a demand for an immediate ceasefire, again said it would be up to Ukraine to end the fighting and advised Kyiv to 'take the deal,' without specifying what Putin had suggested. Trump said after the summit that he negotiated with Putin over land swaps but declined to provide more details. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday will lead a teleconference among the 'coalition of the willing' — countries that have indicated they will provide troops and other support to Ukraine at the end of the war, according to a European official. Ahead of the summit, Trump said he supported some American role in providing security guarantees — some form of assurance or support from Washington to deter Russia from attacking again after a peace deal is agreed. Nordic and Baltic leaders welcomed those commitments again after Trump spoke with European officials late Friday. While Trump did much more than usual to consult with Europe in the lead-up to the summit with Putin and after, the frequent contact does not seem to have yielded tangible results. European officials are relieved that Trump did not agree to a deal with Putin but disappointed that the threat of steep secondary tariffs targeting third countries buying Russian oil was tabled. 'They want to try to influence the negotiation process as much as possible, because they know Trump really wants to do it this way, and they don't want to leave the initiative to Putin,' said Giuseppe Spatafora, a former NATO official who is now a research analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies. 'In general, the Europeans talk much more often to Trump than during the first 100 days, which is good. They have influence. But it's limited.' Zelenskyy's last visit to the Oval Office in February quickly went off the rails when Vice President JD Vance and later Trump both lectured him for not being grateful enough for American support and overplaying what they said was a weak diplomatic position. Zelenskyy's decision to wear a black polo, black pants and boots rather than a suit further soured the atmosphere. But Trump and Zelenskyy have been on better terms in recent meetings, as Kyiv's allies sought to improve the relationship and Trump's frustration with Putin mounted.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Suspected Islamist rebels kill at least 30 in eastern Congo
KINSHASA, Congo — Suspected Islamist rebels have killed at least 30 people in a series of attacks in eastern Congo's North Kivu province in recent days, a Congolese military official said Saturday. The killings took place in Bapere village between Wednesday and Friday, according to Col. Alain Kiwawa, the military administrator of Lubero territory, where the village is located. 'We have more than 30 people dead, and at least a hundred who are being held hostage,' Kiwawa told the Associated Press. A civil society leader, Samuel Kaheni, the president of the Bapere civil society organization, said that several houses were burned and victims were mostly killed with knives. The attacks are the latest in a string of recent attacks by Islamic-State-aligned Allied Democratic Force after its members killed nearly 40 people last month in an attack on a Catholic church in Ituri. Most of the victims were killed with machetes. The ADF, with roots in neighboring Uganda, operates in the border villages between Uganda and Congo. The two countries have launched a joint armed operation against the group, but it has only increased its attacks in recent months. The incidence of ADF attacks adds to the complicated security challenges in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where dozens of other armed groups are fighting and the central government is battling the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, which have taken control of Goma and other key cities. Lubero's military administrator called on the residents to be on guard against further violence. 'I ask the population to speak out and remain vigilant,' he said. Kamale writes for the Associated Press.
