Mali mutiny 'topples' President Toure

Mali mutiny

www.aljazeera.com

Renegade Malian soldiers say they have ended the rule of President Amadou Toumani Toure after seizing control of the presidential palace and the state television station in the West African nation.

In a statement read out on state television on Thursday, the mutineers said the newly formed National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR) had dissolved institutions, suspended the constitution and imposed a curfew "until further notice".

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Related News Links:
www.nytimes.com

Wow, I didn't know that much was going on in Mali. It's so strange to hear of a serious coup in a "democratic" state, especially one that's relatively stable, like Mali.

Apparently the coup is over mismanaged warfare in the northern region of the country.

Please, ATS, fill me in on what's going down.

www.aljazeera.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I read this: Foreign Relations And Military

That pretty much sums it all up for me. I hope things get better. I know the US Government has just recently publicly condemned the actions of these lower level military personnel who committed the coup.

reply to post by UnivoxSuperfuzz


have you been watching what is happening in the united states?

Here's the deal. Let's start with Mali is 90% Muslim, and is immensely poor.

Mali has been under some attack by Islamists of the Al-Qaeda of the Maghreb variety (and their affliated groups) for several years. Mali in on the outside edge of the Pan-Islamist nation, and the "insurgents" have a stated goal of displacing the Mali government for resisting the "Islamic Nation.". That's the large context.

On a more recent context, Tuaregs and tribal mercenaries have been flooding into the Northern regions of Mali for sometime with a recent increase due to black africans who were in Libya fleeing out of Libya. These groups are looking to set up a new home land in the Northern part of Mali. Their new desert kingdom I guess.

This same scenario of tribal power take over for autonomous regions of power in the new Islamic nation is taking place in multiple Islamic nations right now. The same thing is happening in Libya for example.

The Mali government, with the help of the US, has been trying to integrate the Northern region "irregulars" (tribal warriors) into the army of Mali. This hasn't been sitting well with the other parts of the hodge-podge army.

The coup appears (without any evidence on my part) to be compromised of some tribes who are looking at consolidating power in the face of increasing tribal power coiming into Northern Mali.

This "coup" is only a power grab, because the current President is about to come to the end of his term limits, and needs to call an election. Now I suppose there could be the possibility that the army here has the idea that the President doesn't intend to step down?

Mali is quite likely to break into two areas in the near future.

If you want news articles, let me know. I was reading some earlier today, I'm sure I could drag them up. Mali's of interest to me as it is on the outside edge of the forming up Islamist empire in Africa, and how they deal with this pressure could be a defining characteristic of how this new block will behave in the near future.

Earlier discussion and info on the topic here.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

The US has certainly invested quite a bit in Mali over the past couple of years.... USAID aka CIA operations... Al Qaeda etc etc... Refugees... All the trimmings...

reply to post by Aeons


Brilliant post. This should be in the news articles instead of the speculative drivel of mass media. Seriously, thanks for the background info.

Any obscure news posts would be great, thanks.

Looks like most of the anger is about trying to co-opt the forces that they're actually trying to fight. As well as the forces themselves wanting to carve out a homeland. I think you're right on track.

www.independent.co.uk...

There were fears that it could help ethnic Tuareg rebels to advance on the capital, Bamako, in a bid to win a northern homeland – a conflict which has intensified since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya sent his Tuareg mercenaries back to their homeland.

www.dw.de...

The coup against President Amadou Toumani Toure appeared to have developed from the rebellious soldiers' discontent over the handling of the Tuareg rebellion. Soldiers had been demanding better weapons with which to fight the nomads for weeks. The rebellion in the north of the country has claimed the lives of scores of government troops.

I'd source the comments about the resistance to the "Islamic State" but journals do their best to never ever publish anything they say, and I'm afraid that those comments are from one that slipped through several years ago.

To be fair, my post contains conjecture, and a story format which is not popular by new standards or by demagogues. I aspire to demagogue status.

reply to post by Aeons


The Reuters article on DW was great, thanks. And it's what I was asking for, so your post was really appreciated, no matter the format.

Given the US's recent interest in Mali and its French roots, does anyone see a western response if certain things happen? I guess I'm just asking you guys to speculate.

There has been an ongoing response for quite some time.

I'd ask the opposite question. What happens if the Islamist tribal hodge-podge of princedoms under a religious leader takes root in North Africa?

When I think about what that means, the answer as to if there should be some interest from the first world in these affairs seems pretty obvious. And it is Hell Yeah.

I realized I do have some evidence of my presumption of tribal allegiances viaing for power inside Mali, and the army in Mali. Its just the sort of evidence I'm supposed to ignore as an ethnic blind North American.

www.nationsencyclopedia.com...

Tuareg ethnicity:
i1.trekearth.com...

Military junta leaders: (Mande? Songhai?)
www.capitalfm.co.ke...

reply to post by Aeons


I hope you realize that AQ is a fictional made-up western group.

All we need to know is that the ousted Malian president came to power in a coup that was covertly backed by the USA, and has been ousted by the military which was not paid off to their satisfaction by the USA or the president.

The issue now, is that we have to either pay off or destroy their military. I am betting on the latter, so I would not be surprised to hear about US "aid workers" who are actually AFRICOM operatives working undercover being captured or killed there soon.

reply to post by HattoriHanzou


Like many things started or provoked, just because it started one way doesn't mean that that it stays that way. I'm sure that everyone has their stick in the Al-Q (and similar) cauldron by now.

Mali is a semi-presidential state. I'm sure that I am meant to believe that democracy is the only way, and I believe it deeply. However, democracy requires some educational infrastructure which is missing in many places. It also requires the criminal/elitist element to realize that they do better when they aren't screwing everything up with their short term greed. Neither of these things exists in most of these nations.

Mali has been hobbling along relatively well under the circumstances.

Do you have some fantastic idea?

reply to post by Aeons


The USA doesn't care about democracy in Mali as long as they do what they are told.

And they will, one way or another.

Again, watch for western "democracy activists" or NGO employees to be detained or killed under mysterious circumstances in the near future.