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The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Mali's junta arrests generals and French national over alleged coup plot
Mali's military rulers say they have arrested a group of military personnel and civilians, including two Malian generals and a suspected French agent, accusing them of attempting to destabilise the country. The security minister, Gen Daouda Aly Mohammedine, who announced the arrests on the local evening news on Thursday, told viewers an investigation was under way and that the situation was 'completely under control'. Sources told the Reuters and Agence France-Presse agencies earlier this week that dozens of military officials had been taken into custody. The development comes as the military continues to crack down on dissent after a pro-democracy rally in May, the first since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago. Few details were provided about the alleged coup plotters, what they had intended or the French national implicated in it, beyond identifying him as Yann Vezilier. Mohammedine said he had been acting 'on behalf of the French intelligence service, which mobilised political leaders, civil society actors and military personnel' in Mali. Some reports in Mali have identified Vezilier as a flight officer who was listed on the French government website Légifrance as a lieutenant colonel as of 2020. There was no immediate word from France, Mali's former colonial ruler, on Vezilier's arrest. 'The transitional government informs the national public of the arrest of a small group of marginal elements of the Malian armed and security forces for criminal offences aimed at destabilising the institutions of the republic,' Mohammedine said. 'The conspiracy has been foiled with the arrests of those involved.' A national television channel broadcast photos of 11 people it said were members of the group that planned the coup, and Mohammedine identified two generals he accused of being part of the plot, which he said had begun on 1 August. One of them, Gen Abass Dembélé, is a former governor of the central Mopti region. He was abruptly dismissed in May, when he demanded an investigation into allegations that the army had killed civilians in the village of Diafarabé. The other, Gen Néma Sagara, was lauded for her role in fighting militants in 2012. Rida Lyammouri, an analyst at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South, told Associated Press Mali's rulers were well aware of discontent among the population and members of the military. 'The military leaders are simply not willing to let those grievances build into something more, like a coup, and therefore these arrests seem more of a way to intimidate than a legitimate coup attempt,' he said. Sign up to The Long Wave Nesrine Malik and Jason Okundaye deliver your weekly dose of Black life and culture from around the world after newsletter promotion 'It's a continuation of the repeated unjustified arrests and prosecution of anyone speaking against the current regime. We have seen this behaviour against journalists, civil society and political leaders, so it's not surprising to see this against military members.' Mali, along with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, has long fought an insurgency by armed militants, including some allied with al-Qaida and Islamic State. After two military coups, the ruling junta expelled French troops in 2022 and turned to Russia for security assistance. But the security situation remains precarious, and attacks by militants have intensified in recent months. Gen Assimi Goïta was granted another five years in power in June, despite the junta's earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. The move followed the military's dissolution of political parties in May.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Mali's junta arrests generals and French national over suspected coup plot
Mali's military rulers say they have arrested a group of military personnel and civilians, including two Malian generals and a suspected French agent, accusing them of attempting to destabilise the country. The announcement followed rumours in recent days of arrests of army officers. It was made by Mali's security minister, Gen Daouda Aly Mohammedine on the local evening news on Thursday. He assured viewers that a full investigation was under way and that the situation was 'completely under control'. The development comes as the military continues to crack down on dissent after a pro-democracy rally in May, the first since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago. Few details were provided about the alleged coup plotters, what they had intended or the French national implicated in it, beyond identifying him as Yann Vezilier. Mohammedine said he had been acting 'on behalf of the French intelligence service, which mobilised political leaders, civil society actors and military personnel' in Mali. There was no immediate word from France, Mali's former colonial ruler, on the Vezilier's arrest. 'The transitional government informs the national public of the arrest of a small group of marginal elements of the Malian armed and security forces for criminal offences aimed at destabilising the institutions of the republic,' Mohammedine said. 'The conspiracy has been foiled with the arrests of those involved.' National television broadcast photos of 11 people it said were members of the group that planned the coup, and Mohammedine identified two generals he accused of being part of the plot, which he said had begun on 1 August. One of them, Gen Abass Dembélé, is a former governor of the central Mopti region. He was abruptly dismissed in May, when he demanded an investigation into allegations that the army had killed civilians in the village of Diafarabé . The other, Gen Néma Sagara, was lauded for her role in fighting militants in 2012. Rida Lyammouri, an analyst at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South, said Mali's rulers were well aware of discontent among the population and members of the military. 'The military leaders are simply not willing to let those grievances build into something more, like a coup, and therefore these arrests seem more of a way to intimidate than a legitimate coup attempt,' he said. 'It's a continuation of the repeated unjustified arrests and prosecution of anyone speaking against the current regime. We have seen this behaviour against journalists, civil society and political leaders, so it's not surprising to see this against military members.' Mali, along with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, has long fought an insurgency by armed militants, including some allied with al-Qaida and Islamic State. After two military coups, the ruling junta expelled French troops in 2022 and turned to Russia for security assistance. But the security situation remains precarious, and attacks by militants have intensified in recent months. Gen Assimi Goïta was granted another five years in power in June, despite the junta's earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. The move followed the military's dissolution of political parties in May.
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Mali's military arrests generals, suspected French agent in overthrow plot
Authorities in Mali have arrested a group of military personnel and civilians, including two Malian army generals and a suspected French secret agent, accused of attempting to destabilise the country. Mali's security minister, General Daoud Aly Mohammedine, announced the arrests on Thursday evening following days of rumours that Malian military officials had been arrested. The minister said, 'The situation is completely under control.' 'The transitional government informs the national public of the arrest of a small group of marginal elements of the Malian armed and security forces for criminal offences aimed at destabilising the institutions of the republic,' Mohammedine said on national news. 'The conspiracy has been foiled with the arrests of those involved,' he said, adding that the plot began on August 1. 'These soldiers and civilians' had obtained 'the help of foreign states', Mali's military said in a statement, adding that a French national – identified as Yann Christian Bernard Vezilier – was held on suspicion of working 'on behalf of the French intelligence service'. The security minister said the Frenchman acted 'on behalf of the French intelligence service, which mobilised political leaders, civil society actors and military personnel' in Mali. Images shared on social media of the alleged French spying suspect featured a white man in his 50s wearing a white shirt and appearing somewhat alarmed. National television also broadcast photos of 11 people it said were members of the group that planned the coup. The security minister also identified two Malian generals he said were part of the plot. One of the suspects, General Abass Dembele, is a former governor of the country's central Mopti region, who was abruptly dismissed in May when he demanded an investigation into allegations that the Malian army killed civilians in the village of Diafarabe. The second general, Nema Sagara, was previously lauded for her role in fighting rebel groups in 2012. Security sources told the AFP news agency that at least 55 soldiers had been arrested, and authorities said they were working to identify 'possible accomplices'. Impoverished Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group, as well as local criminal gangs. The country's military rulers, led by President Assimi Goita, have in recent years turned away from Western partners, notably former colonial power France, and aligned politically and militarily with Russia in the name of national sovereignty. In June, Goita was granted an additional five years in power, despite the military's earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Mali's military rulers arrest 2 generals, a suspected French agent and others in alleged coup plot
Mali's military rulers said Thursday they have arrested a group of military personnel and civilians, including two Malian generals and a suspected French agent, accused of attempting to destabilize the country. The announcement followed rumors in recent days of arrests of Malian army officers and was made by Mali's security minister, Gen. Daoud Aly Mohammedine on the evening news on the local media. He assured the audience that a full investigation was underway and that 'the situation is completely under control.' It comes amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent by Mali's military following the country's pro-democracy rally in May, the first since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago. The military provided few details about the alleged coup plotters, what it entailed and the French national implicated in it, beyond identifying the man as Yann Vezilier. The security minister said the Frenchman acted 'on behalf of the French intelligence service, which mobilized political leaders, civil society actors, and military personnel' in Mali. There was no immediate word from France, Mali's former colonial ruler, on the man's arrest. 'The transitional government informs the national public of the arrest of a small group of marginal elements of the Malian armed and security forces for criminal offenses aimed at destabilizing the institutions of the Republic,' Mohammedine said. 'The conspiracy has been foiled with the arrests of those involved," he said, adding that the plot began on Aug. 1. The national television broadcast photos of 11 people it said were members of the group that planned the coup. The minister also identified the two Malian generals he said were part of the plot. One, Gen. Abass Dembélé, is a former governor of the central Mopti region who was abruptly dismissed in May, when he demanded an investigation into allegations that the Malian army killed civilians in the village of Diafarabé. The other, Gen. Néma Sagara, was lauded for her role in fighting militants in 2012. Mali, along with neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, has long battled an insurgency by armed militants, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following two military coups, the ruling junta expelled French troops and instead turned to Russia for security assistance. But the security situation remains precarious, and attacks from extremist groups linked with al-Qaida intensified in recent months. In June, military leader Gen. Assimi Goita, was granted an additional five years in power, despite the junta's earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. The move followed the military's dissolution of political parties in May.
