Mali’s political crisis deepens as military arrests President, two others

Malian military officers on Monday arrested President Bah Ndaw and two other members of the interim government in the landlocked West African nation.

Also arrested were the Prime Minister, Moctar Ouane, and Defence Minister Souleymane Doucoure.

Government sources told journalists the three men were taken to a military base outside Bamako, the country’s capital, hours after two members of the military lost their positions in a government reshuffle.

READ ALSO: Mali’s military junta disbanded six months after coup, as troop’s gun down 100 Jihadists

Mali has been rocked by a constitutional crisis since the ouster of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August last year.

Political instability and military infighting has complicated efforts by leaders of the Economic of West African States (ECOWAS) and Western powers and to resolve the conflict.

Ndaw and Ouane had been tasked with overseeing an 18-month transition back to civilian rule after the August takeover but they appear to have moved against the military’s control over a number of key positions.

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