Mali’s transitional vice president Assimi Goita on Tuesday said that he removed the transitional president and prime minister from office, confirming reports from several international groups that the leaders had been ousted on Monday.
Goita who also led last year’s coup said that President Bah N’Daw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and several of their advisors had been removed from office because they had failed to consult him on a cabinet reshuffle, according to a statement read by Goita’s adviser, Baba Cissé, on national broadcaster ORTM Tuesday.
A senior diplomatic source told CNN that two key actors in the putsch, Colonels Sadio Camara and Modibo Koné, had not been included in the new government that was announced on Monday, adding that that may have been a key reason for the decision to trigger a coup.
The current whereabouts of the president and prime minister are unclear, and CNN has not been able to reach N’Daw, Ouane, or their representatives for comment.
Former defense minister and retired Col. Maj. Bah Daw was sworn in as interim president last September.
Former defense minister and retired Col. Maj. Bah N’Daw was sworn in as Mali’s interim president last September.
N’Daw and Ouane were in charge of a transitional government created in the wake of an August 2020 coup.
The coup, led by Goita, overthrew then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and then-Prime Minister Boubou Cisse. The transitional government, headed by N’Daw, had promised to hold legislative and presidential elections in February 2022 to restore a democratic government.
In the statement read by his adviser on Tuesday, Goita is reported to have said he would
follow the transition process and maintain the elections planned for 2022.
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