Security Updates

During the early morning hours on Thursday 27 May, media reports, citing a military official, indicated that Malian soldiers had freed Bah N’Daw and Moctar Ouane, who resigned on 26 May as president and prime minister just two days after they were detained. Their release comes as Mali’s former junta leader Col Assimi Goïta announced on 27 May that he has declared himself the country’s transitional president. Currently, tensions remain heightened in Mali though the situation appears to be calm. There are also remaining questions about how this latest ‘coup’ will impact the country’s transition back to democracy after the August 2020 coup, and the overall security situation in Mali.