Troops from the West African nation of Mali have detained the nation’s president and prime minister Tuesday in an apparent coup in support of civilian demonstrations calling for the ouster of the president, the Associated Press reports.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse were being held by troops Tuesday evening (local time) after military units surrounded their residences in the capital city of Bamako.
The troops are from Kati, a city of 100,000 just north of Bamako, the same city from which troops who led a 2012 coup came. UN and French troops are stationed in the nation to prevent violence, but they have not intervened in this military action.
Local reports detail military troops walking freely through the capital city, demonstrating both civilian and military support for the ouster of Keita and Cisse.