BAMAKO, Mali
A close ally of Mali's civilian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga was detained on Monday after their political movement openly criticized the West African nation's military rulers, according to their entourage.
The M5-RFP movement on Friday
released a strong statement against the colonels who seized power in 2020,
further extending their rule after they failed to meet a March deadline to hold
elections and hand over power to a civilian government.
Two sources confirmed that
Boubacar Traore, who signed the statement, had been detained.
A member of his entourage said
he was taken by intelligence agents from his office in the building housing the
prime minister's services.
The M5 statement was widely
considered to set the seal on the breakdown in relations between the colonels
and the prime minister they appointed in 2021.
The statement also opposed
proposals to promote the colonels to the rank of generals and to launch talks
with armed jihadists.
The proposals emerged from
recent national consultations organised by the junta which intends to carry
them out.
The M5 said the proposals,
which include several more years of military rule, "offended public
opinion."
Our reporter could not confirm if
Maiga, who was appointed by the junta, supported the statement from M5, which
is riven by factionalism.
But Traore said the
statement came from the faction backing Maiga.
But the prime minister has
made no comment.
There has been speculation for
months that Maiga, who appears isolated with limited room to manoeuvre, is to
be replaced.
The colonels have kept a tight
hold on the reins of power, following a second putsch in 2021. They have not
set a new date to hand over power.
Maiga had announced the junta
will only organize elections once the security situation has completely
stabilised.
In April, the military
authorities suspended all party-political activities after muzzling opponents,
journalists and human rights activists.
Mali has since 2012 been
plunged into a political and security crisis fueled by attacks from jihadist
and other armed groups, as well as a separatist struggle in the north.
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