Less than two weeks after a coordinated wave of attacks struck Mali, the country’s junta leader has appointed a new chief of the general staff for the armed forces.
Elisée Jean Dao assumed the position on Wednesday, having been promoted from brigadier general in the National Guard to major general. Dao succeeds Oumar Diarra, who has been reassigned as minister delegate to the minister of defence – a role now held by Mali’s transitional president and junta chief, General Assimi Goïta.
The appointments follow the death of former defence minister Sadio Camara, who was killed by a car bomb during the April attacks. The army has said it possesses “solid evidence” that certain military personnel were involved in the “planning, coordination and execution” of the assaults.
In the aftermath, security forces have detained or abducted several members of the military and opposition. Opposition figures Mountaga Tall, Youssouf Daba Diawara and Moussa Djire are reported to have been “abducted,” according to security sources quoted by AFP. Tall, a lawyer, was taken on 2 May in Bamako by men in masks, his family says. He is accused of conspiring with opposition figures in Dakar to overthrow the military government and has been questioned at least once for “attempted destabilisation.”
Diawara and Djire are suspected of links to influential imam Mahmoud Dicko and former presidential candidate Oumar Mariko, both living in exile. A judicial source added that at least two other civilians close to Mariko were arrested after the attacks, though details were not disclosed.
A political official, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said “everything suggests that these events are being used as an opportunity to carry out a purge within the political opposition and the army.”
The reshuffle and arrests underscore the junta’s effort to consolidate control amid ongoing security challenges. Observers will be watching how the new military leadership and the broader crackdown affect Mali’s political landscape and prospects for stability.
