President Of Mali has been arrested by soldiers in a mutinous uprising

According to Washington Post, Mutinous soldiers arrested Mali’s president on Tuesday after storming the West African country’s capital, where protesters filled the streets demanding new leadership at a time of rising extremism and economic turmoil.

The head of the African Union Commission and West African leaders condemned the uprising, calling for the swift release of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, as well as the nation’s prime minister and other top officials.

The 15-country regional bloc known as ECOWAS urged the military to “return to their positions without delay” after a day of chaos in Bamako that included gunfire, blocked roads and burning houses.

Tens of thousands of Malians have flooded the capital of the West African nation in recent months, accusing Keïta of botching the response to a fast-spreading Islamist insurgency while allowing the nation’s economy to crumble.

The coronavirus pandemic further fanned frustrations after state lockdowns pushed many people out of school and work.

More demonstrators took to the streets in the capital Tuesday, cheering for soldiers as they drove by in tactical vehicles. Some sat in the backs of pickup trucks, grinning and waving their guns.

“They have IBK!” people can be heard shouting in videos of the scene, invoking the president’s initials.

Earlier in the day, Mali’s prime minister, Boubou Cissé, acknowledged the “legitimate causes” of his countrymen’s anger Tuesday in a statement and invited the soldiers to talk.

“There is no problem that cannot be solved with dialogue,” he wrote.

The American and French embassies warned their citizens in Mali to stay home on Tuesday.

“The embassy has been notified of a mutiny in the Armed Forces and troops are on their way to Bamako,” the Norwegian Embassy wrote in an alert.