The UN mission in Mali has demanded an immediate release of President Bah Ndaw and PM Moctar Ouane, following his arrest and detention by soldiers.
Defence Minister Souleymane Doucouré has also reportedly been detained
The detention of President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane on Monday came hours after a government reshuffle left out two soldiers who led the coup in August last year and raised fears of a second military takeover.
In a joint statement, the UN and AU called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Mali’s civilian leadership and said “the international community rejects in advance any act of coercion, including forced resignations”.
The African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the EU and the US also condemned the arrests, saying Mali’s top politicians must be released without any preconditions.
Once again Mali is looking unstable just nine months after the military coup that saw President Ibrahim Boubakar Keïta removed from office.
A previous coup in 2012 led to militant Islamists exploiting the instability to seize territory in northern Mali.
