Mali’s military rulers announced on August 14, that they had arrested a group of military personnel and civilians, including two generals and a French national, for their alleged roles in a foiled coup plot aimed at destabilizing the transitional government. Security Minister General Daoud Aly Mohammedine revealed that the conspiracy began on August 1 and involved collaboration with a foreign intelligence service; he identified the French national as Yann Vezilier, whom authorities suspect of acting on behalf of French intelligence and recruiting political elites, civil society actors, and military figures in Mali.
The officials detained include General Abass Dembélé, a former governor of the central Mopti region who was dismissed earlier in May after calling for an investigation into civilian killings by Malian troops, as well as Brigadier General Néma Sagara, celebrated for her combat efforts against militants in 2012. Mali’s state television broadcast images of 11 individuals allegedly tied to the plot, though full details of the scheme remain undisclosed.
This development comes as part of a broader crackdown by the junta on perceived dissent. In May, Mali experienced its first major pro-democracy rally since soldiers took power nearly four years ago; in June, the military dissolved political parties and granted leader General Assimi Goïta an additional five years in power. Analysts, such as Rida Lyammouri from the Policy Center for the New South, suggest that the coup scare may be less an actual threat and more a means of quelling growing unrest, especially given Dembélé’s previous criticisms of the army.
In a coordinated statement, junta spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga condemned the alleged plot as “subversive” and affirmed that judicial investigations have been launched to identify any further accomplices. While Mali’s government assured citizens that control had been maintained, skepticism remains widespread. Observers fear that this may be another move to suppress criticism rather than a legitimate response to a real threat.
The arrests come amidst a deteriorating security landscape. Mali, along with Burkina Faso and Niger, continues to battle armed groups aligned with al-Qaida and ISIL, often with assistance from Russian-aligned forces. Meanwhile, the junta’s pivot away from France toward Russia has deepened, even as extremist violence continues to rise.
