UPDATED: Mali President detained by mutinying soldiers

The President of Mali, Boubacar Keita, was detained by mutinying soldiers on Tuesday, according to a Reuters report.

The news agency quotes two Mali security sources as confirming the detention.

The detention was also confirmed to the BBC by a Mali government spokesperson.
Mali has been in crisis since 2012 after a military coup ousted its former president, Amadou Toure, with a large part of the country now controlled by armed jihadists.

There have been mass demonstrations in the capital, Bamako, after controversial general elections in the West African country earlier this year.

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Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan, in July led a peace mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to seek a solution to the crisis.

The committee eventually recommended a unity government for the troubled country.

While the political crisis still persists, Reuters reports that soldiers on Tuesday at the Kati military base near Bamako rounded up a number of senior civilian and military officials.

The mutiny has been condemned by ECOWAS, the U.S. and France, from whom Mali gained its independence.

“This mutiny comes at a time when, for several months now, Ecowas has been taking initiatives and conducting mediation efforts with all the Malian parties,” an ECOWAS statement said.