• African Union chairman Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday condemned the coup, saying the AU is against any action aimed at destabilising the West African country.
• This raised fears of a second coup within a year in the country.
Image: BBC
The African Union and the United Nations have condemned the coup in Mali and demanded the release of the President, the Prime Minister and the Defence minister.
African Union chairman Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday condemned the coup, saying the AU is against any action aimed at destabilising the West African country.
Tshisekedi, who is the DR Congo President, urged all actors in the Malian political transition to act with restraint and respect the rule of law.
“It (AU) demands the immediate and unconditional release of the personalities arrested. The current President of the African Union considers that everything must be done to preserve the stability of Mali and consolidate peace in the sub-region,” Tshisekedi said in a statement.
Mali interim President Bah Ndaw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and Defence minister Souleymane Doucoure were on Monday arrested and taken to a military base in Kati outside Bamako, hours after two members of the military lost their positions in a government reshuffle.
This is the second coup in months, after the removal of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August last year.
AU Commission chairman Moussa Faki said he was deeply concerned by the “political situation” in Mali , including the arrest of the President of the Transition authority, the prime minister and their allies.
“I strongly condemn this extremely serious act which cannot in any case be tolerated with regard to the relevant provisions of ECOWAS and the AU,” Faki said.
He asked the military to return to the barracks and demanded for the "immediate and unconditional" release of the officials and opt for dialogue on the establishment of government.
“In any event, AU recalls that respect for the political consensus which has so far founded the transition in Mali, is the only path to be favoured,” Faki said in a statement.
He also urged the international community to support the AU and ECOWAS in support of the success of the transition at in Mali.
International agencies on Tuesday said the recent development could exacerbate instability in the West African country, where violent Islamist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State control large areas of the desert north.
The UN mission in Mali has demanded an immediate release of President Bah Ndaw and PM Moctar Ouane, after reports that they were detained by soldiers.
In a tweet (in French), the Minusma mission also called for calm in the impoverished West African nation.
“We are closely monitoring events and remain committed to supporting the Transition. We call for calm and demand the immediate and unconditional release of the President and the Prime Minister. Those who hold them will have to answer for their actions,” the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali tweeted.
“They must ensure the integrity of those detained. We are in close contact with ECOWAS and the AU within the framework of the local transition monitoring committee, as well as with other international actors engaged in support of the ongoing transition. We support these efforts,”Minusma added.
This comes after reports that interim President Ndaw and Ouane were driven by soldiers to the Kati military camp near the capital, Bamako.
This raised fears of a second coup within a year in the country.
Defence Minister Souleymane Doucouré has also reportedly been detained.
Late on Monday, Ouane told AFP in a phone call that soldiers "came to get him". The news agency said the line was then cut.
The African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the EU and the US also condemned the arrests, saying Mali's top politicians must be released without any preconditions.
The reported detentions came just hours after a government reshuffle, which saw two senior army officers who took part in last year's coup replaced.
Once again Mali is looking unstable just nine months after the military coup that saw President Ibrahim Boubakar Keïta removed from office, the BBC's Africa editor Will Ross reports.
He says that many Malians had welcomed Keita's departure - but there's anger at the dominance of the military in the transitional government and the slow pace of promised reforms.
A previous coup in 2012 led to militant Islamists exploiting the instability to seize territory in northern Mali.
French troops helped regain territory, but attacks continue.