Mali's Prime Minister Captured by Rebels
Malian army soldiers have arrested Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra at his home, a member of a rebel group announced on December 10, according to AFP news agency.
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Mali Prime Minister Cheick Mobido Diarra - Photo: aljazeera.com |
The soldiers claimed that Mr Diarra's arrest was on the orders of former coup leader Amadou Sanogo.
“The prime minister was captured by about 20 soldiers from Kati,” the rebel group said on December 10. “Captain Sanogo ordered his capture.” Kati is a military camp outside the capital Bamako and a former rebel base.
An unnamed member of Mr. Diarra’s security detail said that soldiers “broke down the door of the prime minister’s residence and took him away by force.” Mr. Diarra, an astrophysicist who worked for NASA space programs and was the Africa president of Microsoft, was preparing to leave for Paris for a medical checkup, according to AFP.
Mr Diarra has repeatedly said he supports a swift military intervention to drive hardline Islamists from northern Mali, which they seized after Sanogo's coup on March 22.
Sanogo, a previously unknown army captain, overthrew the government of President Amadou Toumani Toure. The coup and resulting political chaos have left rebel and Islamist forces in control of large swathes of Mali.
Sanogo quickly handed over power to a civilian government afterward, but his influence remains strong in Bamako.
According to Tuoi Tre - DT
