President missing as Mali reels from coup
Source: Agencies |
March 24, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE whereabouts of Mali's president were unknown yesterday, a day after mutinous soldiers declared a coup, raising fears and prompting uncertainty in the West African nation.
Even though the sound of gunfire had ceased in the capital Bamako, stores remained shuttered yesterday and the streets were empty because a nationwide curfew remained in effect. Uncertainty gripped the landlocked nation of 15.4 million as people tried to find the identities of the soldiers who suddenly appeared on state television on Thursday, announcing a coup d'etat.
Late on Thursday, the coup leader Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo spoke on state television in which he said that President Amadou Toumani Toure was in good health, but refused to say where he is, or even if he is being held by the putschists.
"For the moment, I will not tell you where President Amadou Toumani Toure is," he said. "He's very well. He's safe. As far as us - I already told you yesterday that our objective is not to physically harm anyone."
Democratic election
Toure is himself a soldier who came to power in a 1991 coup. He was hailed for handing power to civilians. He won the democratic election in 2002.
Baffling for many is the fact that Toure was due to step down next month at the end of his second term. Instead, soldiers angry over his handling of an insurgency in the country's north stormed the palace. He has not been heard from since.
Elections were slated for April 29; that now looks increasingly unlikely.
Sanogo also assured the public that the ministers that have been detained by the junta were safe.
Even though the sound of gunfire had ceased in the capital Bamako, stores remained shuttered yesterday and the streets were empty because a nationwide curfew remained in effect. Uncertainty gripped the landlocked nation of 15.4 million as people tried to find the identities of the soldiers who suddenly appeared on state television on Thursday, announcing a coup d'etat.
Late on Thursday, the coup leader Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo spoke on state television in which he said that President Amadou Toumani Toure was in good health, but refused to say where he is, or even if he is being held by the putschists.
"For the moment, I will not tell you where President Amadou Toumani Toure is," he said. "He's very well. He's safe. As far as us - I already told you yesterday that our objective is not to physically harm anyone."
Democratic election
Toure is himself a soldier who came to power in a 1991 coup. He was hailed for handing power to civilians. He won the democratic election in 2002.
Baffling for many is the fact that Toure was due to step down next month at the end of his second term. Instead, soldiers angry over his handling of an insurgency in the country's north stormed the palace. He has not been heard from since.
Elections were slated for April 29; that now looks increasingly unlikely.
Sanogo also assured the public that the ministers that have been detained by the junta were safe.
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