Mali PM quits after being arrest by junta

Mali's PM has resigned after soldiers who led a recent coup burst into his home and arrested him. Source: AAP

MALI'S prime minister has resigned on state television, hours after soldiers who led a recent coup burst into his home and arrested him, in the latest sign of the volatile political situation in this once-stable nation in West Africa.

Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra addressed the nation early on Tuesday, saying: "Our country is living through a period of crisis. Men and women who are worried about the future of our nation are hoping for peace.

"It's for this reason that I, Cheikh Modibo Diarra, am resigning along with my entire government on this day, Tuesday, December 11, 2012. I apologise before the entire population of Mali," he said.

Diarra appeared on TV at 4am local time dressed in a dark suit, his forehead glistening with sweat, his expression sombre.

A police officer and an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the 60-year-old Diarra had been arrested at his private residence around 10pm on Monday by soldiers loyal to Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo, the leader of the country's recent coup.

Diarra was getting ready to leave the country for Paris and the plane that was due to take him was already taxiing at the airport. It's unclear if the trip to France was planned, or if Diarra had gotten wind of the pending arrest and was trying to flee.

The security officials said the prime minister was forced into a car and driven to the Kati military camp, the sprawling military base where the March 21 coup was launched under the orders of Sanogo. For several weeks, tension has been mounting between the officers who led the coup and Diarra, the civilian prime minister they were forced to appoint when they handed back power to a transitional government.

The police officer, who was on duty on Monday night at Bamako's international airport preparing for Diarra's departure for Paris, said a group linked to the junta stormed the airport.

"The plane that was to take the prime minister to France was on the point of departure," said the officer. "It was stopped by people from the group Yerewoloton who invaded the airport. The people from Yerewoloton are still at the airport as we speak, searching cars."

Diarra, an astrophysicist who previously led one of NASA's Mars exploration programs, was initially seen as in step with Sanogo. Critics lambasted him for frequently driving to the Kati barracks to see the coup leader, apparently to seek his advice long after Sanogo was supposed to have handed power to civilians. In recent weeks though, Diarra has appeared to be taking stances that sometimes conflict with Sanogo.

Last weekend for example, Diarra helped organised a demonstration calling for a United Nations-backed military intervention to take back Mali's north, which fell to Islamic extremists in the chaos following the coup.

A spokesman for Sanogo's junta reached early on Tuesday said Diarra was trying to flee to Paris. He said the soldiers arrested him because Diarra was "creating a blockage".

"For several days now, Cheikh Modibo Diarra has mobilised his supporters and boycotted the national conference (currently being held to discuss Mali's future)," said the spokesman Bacary Mariko.

"And now he says he's going to Paris for medical tests at the American hospital in Paris because he claims he is suffering from pneumonia. But we know better and realise that he is trying to flee in order to go and create a blockage in the Mali situation," he said.

He explained further: "For several months now, Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra and the (interim) president of the republic have not been getting along. And Cheikh Modibo Diarra also doesn't get along with Capt Sanogo. It's the reason why Mali's army has taken things into their own hands and told Cheikh Modibo Diarra to resign for the good of Mali."

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Mali PM quits after being arrest by junta

Dengan url

http://mesinjahitan.blogspot.com/2012/12/mali-pm-quits-after-being-arrest-by.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Mali PM quits after being arrest by junta

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Mali PM quits after being arrest by junta

sebagai sumbernya