KIGALI, Rwanda
Mali’s military government said Thursday that security forces foiled an attempt to “destabilize government institutions” by elements of the army and civilians supported by a foreign country.
A statement by government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga said “the conspiracy has been foiled with the arrests of those involved,” noting that the plot began on Aug. 1 with the aim to “break, with the help of a foreign state, the dynamic of refoundation initiated in Mali.”
“The transitional government strongly condemns this subversive act and announces the opening of judicial investigations to identify possible accomplices,” it said.
The alleged perpetrators arrested included Gen. Abbass Dembele, a military commander and former governor of the central Mopti district, Brig. Gen. Naima Sagara and a French national, Yann Vezilier, suspected of working for the French intelligence service, according to the statement.
The government assured that the situation is totally under control and called on the population to remain calm and vigilant in the face of attempts at destabilization.
The statement came days after unconfirmed media reports said dozens of soldiers were detained, accused of trying to depose the junta.
Since coming to power through coups in 2020 and 2021, this is not the first time the Mali junta has claimed to have thwarted a coup attempt.
In May 2022, the government said it had foiled a coup attempt that it said was supported by a Western government.