Bamako, Oct 6, 2019 – Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Sunday rejected as speculation talk of a military coup after recent jihadist attacks left dozens of soldiers dead near the border with Burkina Faso. Keita said lessons would be learned after 38 soldiers were killed in two attacks last week, a death toll that observers say is probably an underestimate. “No military coup will prevail in Mali, let it be said,” the president said in remarks recorded Saturday and released on Sunday. “What happened at Boulkessy could unfortunately happen again,” Keita said of the attacks, which evoked memories of a 2012 army coup in Mali. Sources said Malian special forces and foreign allies, including French warplanes and helicopters, helped to quash the attacks.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 06, 2019 20:03 UTC