Mali has arrested soldiers suspected of involvement in last
week’s coordinated attacks by jihadi and separatist fighters.
In a statement late Friday, a judicial official said “the
first arrests have been
successfully carried out, and all other perpetrators, co-perpetrators, and
accomplices are actively being sought”.
The official did not specify how many suspects had been
identified and who specifically had been taken into
custody, but noted that the list of potential accomplices includes three active
duty soldiers, a retired
soldier and a soldier who had been “dismissed” and was killed in fighting near
the country’s main army base in Kati, 15km outside the
capital Bamako.
The public prosecutor at the military court of Bamako said
there was “solid evidence regarding the complicity of certain military
personnel” in the attacks.
According to the statement read on state television, the
officers helped in “the planning, coordination, and execution” of the attacks.
It added that Oumar Mariko, a prominent politician in exile,
was also involved in the plot. Mariko has historically denied collaborating
with jihadists.
The attacks which began on the morning of April 25 was
carried out by the Liberation of Azawad (FLA), a separatist group pushing for
the establishment of a separate Tuareg state, and the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam
wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda branch in Mali.
Sadio Camara, Mali’s defence minister, and three members of
his family, were killed after a vehicle-borne explosive detonated outside his
residence in Kati.
Assimi Goita, interim president, and other junta leaders
were also said to have been targeted in the attacks but were whisked away to
safety.
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