Mali junta leader fires prime minister days after he criticizes the military regime

BAMAKO, Mali -- Mali's junta leader fired Prime Minister Choguel Maïga and the government on Wednesday, days after Maïga criticized the military regime.

The move was announced in a presidential decree issued by Gen. Assimi Goita, Mali's leader, and read on state television channel ORTM.

Mali has been ruled by military leaders since a junta seized power in 2020 and staged another coup the following year.

In June 2022, the junta promised a return to civilian rule by March 2024, but later postponed elections. No date has been set yet for the presidential election. A new prime minister has not been announced yet.

Maïga, who was appointed by the military two years ago, accused the junta of postponing the elections without informing him and said confusion around an end to the transition could pose “serious challenges and the risk of going backwards,” at a rally of his supporters on Saturday. In response to Maiga’s statement, the junta organized demonstrations against him.

The sacking comes a week after Mali’s junta arrested one of the country’s top politicians for criticizing the military rulers of neighboring Burkina Faso.

In June, Malian authorities also arrested eleven opposition politicians and several activists.

Over the last decade, Mali, along with its neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso, has been shaken by extremist uprisings and military coups. The three Sahelian nations are now ruled by military leaders who have taken power by force on pledges of providing more security to citizens. They have cut ties with the traditional Western allies, ousting French and American military forces, and instead sought new security ties with Russia.

But the security situation in Sahel has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and a record number of civilians killed both by Islamic fighters and government forces.