Mali’s military junta on Monday said some Western-backed military officers attempted a coup last week, reported Reuters.
A “small group of anti-progressive Malian officers and non-commissioned officers attempted a coup in the night of May 11 to 12, 2022”, the military junta said in a statement.
The ruling junta condemned the outrageous attack on state security, the purpose of which was to hinder or even annihilate the substantial efforts to secure the country and return to a constitutional order that guarantees peace and stability.
It said that the mutinous soldiers were supported by a Western state. The attempt was thwarted due to the vigilance and professionalism of the country’s defence and security forces. The military junta said that increased security, including checks at border posts and at entry points into the capital Bamako, have been put in place as measures to identify accomplices.
An enquiry has been opened and “detained people” will face justice, it added.
The tensions between Mali’s military junta and the West are linked to its failure to hold promised elections in February and speedily restore civilian rule.
The accusation against Western countries marks a fresh low between Mali and its international allies who aided the West African nation in its fight against Islamist insurgents for almost a decade. But several of them have now begun withdrawing from the country because of a sour political spat.
Instead, Russian mercenaries have come in to aid Mali’s military and witnesses said last month that white mercenaries were involved in a mass execution of Malian civilians.
The accusations of foreign interference come as President Col. Assimi Goita announced that Mali was dropping out of a five-nation regional security force known as the G5. The G5 Sahel was created in 2014 and its anti-extremist force launched in 2017. The force was set up to counter jihadists who have swept across the region in recent years, killing thousands of people and forcing millions to flee their homes.
