2020 Malian protests explained

2020 Malian protests
Partof:the Mali War
Date:5 June – 19 August 2020
Place:Bamako, Mali
Causes:
Goals:
Methods:
Result:
Casualties Label:Deaths and injuries
Fatalities:at least 11
Injuries:124
Side1:
  • Protesters and dissidents of the government
  • 5 June movement
  • Opposition parties

---- National Committee for the Salvation of the People

Side2: Government of Mali
Leadfigures1:(no centralized leadership)---- Assimi Goïta
Ismaël Wagué[1]
Leadfigures2: Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
(President of Mali)
Boubou Cissé
(Prime Minister of Mali)
Tiéna Coulibaly
(Minister of Defence)
Moussa Timbiné
(President of the National Assembly)

Protests in Mali began on 5 June 2020 when protesters gathered in the streets of Bamako, calling for Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to resign as president of Mali. The protests ended after a coup d'état on 18 August 2020. Both the president and prime minister of Mali were detained that afternoon, and in the evening they announced their resignations.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Timeline

See also: 2020 in Mali and 2020 in West Africa.

Background

Numerous factors led to the formation of the 5 June Movement and the August coup d’etat.

Tensions had been seething ever since irregularities were reported during the 2018 Malian presidential election.[7] The on-going Mali War in the Tuareg-controlled northern region intensified the situation. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports have documented army abuses against civilians in the central Mopti and Segou regions,[8] dozens of attacks by armed groups in 2019 that resulted in 456 civilian deaths and hundreds of injuries.[9] Another twelve people were killed due to dissident Fulani in Mopti attacks in April.[10]

Dissidents also questioned the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first two cases were reported on 25 March 2020,[11] and by the end of May, there were 1,265 cases and 77 deaths.[12]

The First round of the 2020 elections

See main article: 2020 Malian parliamentary election. After repeated postponements,[13] [14] [15] the first round of the 2020 Parliamentary election was finally held on 29 March 2020. Opposition leader Soumaïla Cissé and members of his electoral team were kidnapped by jihadists three days before the election.[16] He was released on 6 October.[17] Polling stations were ransacked, village leaders were kidnapped, and a roadside bomb killed nine people including three soldiers on election day, 29 March.[18] Voter turnout was only 12% in Bamako.[19]

The Second round of the 2020 elections

At least 25 soldiers were killed in an attack on a military base in the northern town of Bamba, Gao Region, on 6 April,[20] and concerns about violence dominated the second round of the elections.

Incidents on 19 April prevented some people from casting votes, and on 30 April the Constitutional Court overturned the results in 31 districts, giving Rally for Mali, which is led by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, ten more seats than originally expected. Opposition parties led by Iman Mahmoud Dicko established the (English: 5 June Movement - Rally of Patriotic Forces) on 30 May, and thousands took to the streets in protest on 5 June.

French forces fought the Battle of Talahandak, killing Abdelmalek Droukdel of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb near Tessalit, Kidal Region, 20km (10miles) from the Mali-Algeria border.[21] Boubou Cisse was reappointed Prime Minister on 11 June, when he was instructed to form a new government.

Tens of thousands of Malians protested again on 19 June, demanding the resignation of President Keïta.[22]

On 20 June, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called for new elections to be held.[22]

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Imam Mahmoud Dicko met on 5 July,[23] but the opposition continued to call for civil disobedience to force Keïta's resignation and the dissolution of Parliament.

Protests turned violent on 10 July. For the next three days, protesters in Bamako clashed with security forces,[24] and security forces reportedly fired live rounds at the protesters, killing at least 11 and injuring 124.[25]

On 23 July, Presidents Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria), Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger), Nana Akufo-Addo (Ghana), Alassane Ouattara (Côte d'Ivoire), and Macky Sall (Senegal) arrived in Bamako to meet with President Keïta and opposition leaders after a failed ECOWAS mediation mission.[26]

On 27 July, ECOWAS called for the creation of a unity government and warned of sanctions.

Nine new judges, said to be Keïta supporters, were appointed to the Constitutional Court on 10 August, in response to ECOWAS' demands for reform.

Thousands gathered in Independence Square in Bamako on 11 August, where they were met with tear gas and water cannons.[27]

The opposition announced daily protests starting 17 August.

Coup d’etat

See main article: 2020 Malian coup d'état. Mutinying soldiers arrested President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime Minister Boubou Cissé after taking over a military camp near Bamako on the morning of 18 August.[28]

Early in the morning of 19 August, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta announced his resignation and dissolved parliament.[29] Mahmoud Dicko announced that he was leaving politics.[30] Colonel Assimi Goïta is appointed to head the new government, the Comité national pour le salut du peuple (National Committee for the Salvation of the People, CNSP).[31] [32]

Notes and References

  1. News: Mali Coup Soldiers Take to Airwaves, Promise Elections . 19 August 2020 . The New York Times . Associated Press . 19 August 2020.
  2. News: Maclean. Ruth. 16 July 2020. Anger at Mali's President Rises After Security Forces Kill Protesters. The New York Times. 17 July 2020. 0362-4331.
  3. News: 17 July 2020. Mali PM apologises for security force 'excesses' during protests. Reuters. 17 July 2020.
  4. Web site: Mali opposition leaders freed after days of anti-gov't protests. 17 July 2020. www.aljazeera.com.
  5. Web site: Calls for calm as Mali gov't criticised for response to protests. 17 July 2020. www.aljazeera.com.
  6. News: 12 July 2020. Mali president dissolves top court amid unrest. BBC News. 17 July 2020.
  7. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/mali-crisis-disputed-election-president-detention-200818174521078.html Mali crisis: From disputed election to president’s resignation
  8. https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/08/mali-unchecked-abuses-military-operations Mali: Unchecked Abuses in Military Operations
  9. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/10/mali-militias-armed-islamists-ravage-central-mali Mali: Militias, Armed Islamists Ravage Central Mali
  10. https://www.france24.com/en/20200423-mali-fulani-jihadist-mopti-ali-dolo-bandiagara-ethnic-clashes Suspected Fulani attack kills at least a dozen in central Mali
  11. https://web.archive.org/web/20200325134950/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-03/25/c_138916218.htm Mali reports first 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19
  12. Web site: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 133. 6. 1 June 2020. World Health Organization. 21 July 2020.
  13. https://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2018/09/13/97001-20180913FILWWW00371-mali-les-elections-legislatives-reportees-d-un-mois.php Mali: les élections législatives reportées d'un mois
  14. https://www.garda.com/crisis24/news-alerts/165701/mali-legislative-elections-postponed-to-june-2019-update-16 Mali: Legislative elections postponed to June 2019
  15. https://www.jeuneafrique.com/786365/politique/mali-adoption-dun-projet-de-loi-prolongeant-le-mandat-des-deputes-jusqua-2020/ Mali : adoption d’un projet de loi prolongeant le mandat des députés jusqu’en 2020
  16. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mali-security/mali-opposition-leader-goes-missing-with-11-others-party-idUSKBN21D1DA Mali opposition leader taken hostage with six others: party
  17. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/06/kidnapped-mali-politician-and-french-aid-worker-freed Kidnapped Mali politician and French aid worker freed
  18. Web site: Malian parliamentary elections marred by kidnappings, attacks. Al Jazeera. 31 March 2020. 12 September 2020.
  19. Web site: Voice of America News. Elections Continue in Mali Despite Virus, Violence Fears . 19 April 2020. 12 September 2020.
  20. Web site: Al Jazeera. Dozens of Malian soldiers killed in attack on military base. 6 April 2020. 12 September 2020.
  21. News: Al-Qaeda's North African commander killed, France says . 12 September 2020 . Evening Standard . Reuters . 5 June 2020 . en.
  22. News: . West African bloc urges Mali to re-run disputed elections amid mass protests . 20 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200621163927/https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN23R0I9-OZATP . dead . 21 June 2020 . Tiemoko . Diallo . Edward . McAllister . Christina . Fincher . Mike . Harrison.
  23. News: Mali: President Keita meets protest leader Mahmoud Dicko . . A video posted on the presidency's Twitter account showed the meeting between President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Mahmoud Dicko, an imam and leading figure of the so-called June 5 movement, in the capital, Bamako, on Saturday..
  24. Web site: Al Jazeera. Anti-gov't protests resume in Mali after weeks-long pause. 11 August 2020. 12 September 2020.
  25. News: Calls for calm as Mali gov't criticised for response to protests . 13 July 2020 . . Bloody protests broke out in the capital, Bamako, on Friday and Saturday, with reports saying security forces fired live rounds during clashes with demonstrators, some of whom had occupied state buildings. [...] A senior official at an emergency department of a major hospital in Bamako was quoted by AFP news agency as saying 11 people died and 124 were injured since Friday..
  26. News: Mbah . Fidelis . West African leaders on high-stakes mission to end Mali standoff . 27 July 2020.
  27. Web site: Al Jazeera. Mali police use tear gas to disperse anti-gov't protesters. 12 August 2020. 12 September 2020.
  28. Web site: Soldiers seize Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. 19 August 2020.
  29. https://apnews.com/54737684e3e2a84f9b44656de7343e56 Mali’s president announces resignation after soldiers mutiny
  30. News: After meeting Mali mutineers, protest leader Dicko to step back from politics . 12 September 2020 . Reuters . Reuters . 19 August 2020 . en.
  31. News: El coronel Assimi Goita, designado nuevo hombre fuerte de Mali tras el golpe . 12 September 2020 . www.efe.com . EFE . 19 August 2020 . es.
  32. Web site: Postmaster . Qui est Assimi Goïta, le chef de la junte au Mali – MALI CANAL . MaliCanal . 12 September 2020 . fr-FR . 23 August 2020.