US-trained Mali coup leaders want 3-year military rule

 

US-trained Mali coup leaders want 3-year military rule

By AFP/AP/Foreign Policy

The overthrow, swiftly condemned by the U.S. government, could pose a setback in the regional fight against extremist groups.

The United States has halted all security assistance training and support for Malian military forces that carried out a coup in the West African country after new details emerged that the coup was orchestrated in part by military officers who received training from the U.S. military.

Col. Assimi Goita, a Malian military officer who declared himself provisional leader of the country, participated in U.S.-led military exercises and training aimed to counter extremist groups operating in the Sahel region.

“It’s clear that several participants in the mutiny … have received U.S. training or assistance,” said J. Peter Pham, the State Department’s special envoy for the Sahel region of West Africa, on Friday.

He stressed that the United States condemned the actions by the military officials to topple the government.

“Until our review of both the situation on the ground and of individuals is complete, let me say categorically there is no further training or support of the Malian Armed Forces, full stop. We have halted everything until such time as we can clarify the situation.”

The coup, staged this past week, could present a significant setback in U.S. and multinational efforts to roll back the militant groups, some of which are affiliated with the Islamic State and al Qaeda.

It underscores the deep-seated governance problems in the Sahel that helped lead to the rise of extremist groups.

Pham said the mutiny, which deposed Mali’s president and prime minister, could hinder multinational efforts to combat terrorism.

“Let’s be honest, it’s certainly not going to help,” he said. “We will do our best to try to minimize any negative impact, but clearly when you have a mutiny involving a military that is part of the effort, it cannot but impact the effort. We hope not excessively, and not to the detriment of all of our shared interests in containing the threat of Islamist extremists and other violent actors in this region.”

Mali is a major hub for yearslong multinational efforts to counter terrorist groups in West Africa.

In the aftermath of a 2012 military coup in Mali, extremist groups seized large swaths of territory in the country.

Despite nearly a decade of international counterterrorism operations and security assistance programs, these groups have kept their grip on parts of central Mali and spread further south into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

The United States and other European countries have coordinated with a patchwork of multinational organizations, including the United Nations, G-5 Sahel, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to build up the capacity of Mali’s military to counter the growing terrorist threat.

The Washington Post first reported that Goita, the head of the new junta, was trained by U.S. and European forces, including U.S. Special Operations forces.

Lt. Col. Anton Semelroth, a Pentagon spokesperson, told Foreign Policy in a statement that the U.S. military is “looking into other Malians who have participated in U.S. training and, though counter to that training, may have played a role in the recent mutiny.”

“The act of mutiny in Mali is strongly condemned and inconsistent with U.S. military training and education,” Semelroth added.

Mali Junta wants three-year transition

AFP quoted a source in the ECOWAS delegation as saying the junta wanted a “three-year transition” to review the foundations of the Malian state.

“This transition will be directed by a body led by a soldier, who will also be head of state,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

A junta official confirmed the proposal to AFP, saying the transition would have “a military president and a government mostly composed of soldiers.”

French Radio RFI reported late Sunday that the junta was ready to allow Keita to return to his home in Bamako or leave the country.

“And if he wants to travel abroad for treatment, that is not a problem,” AFP quoted the ECOWAS source as saying. Prime Minister Boubou Cisse would be moved to a secure residence in the capital, the source added.

Tuesday’s coup, the country’s second in eight years, has received condemnation from the international community but it is being celebrated by many in Mali — a nation grappling with an Islamist insurgency and months of political turmoil following a contested legislative election in March.

©️Edge Uganda