Sawt Falasteen - Mali junta chief sacks PM and government

The West African country, plagued by jihadist and separatist violence, has been led by the military since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.

Maiga, who was appointed by the military after the second coup, had been seen as isolated in his position as prime minister, with little room for manoeuvre.

His dismissal creates further uncertainty in an already troubled context.

"The duties of the prime minister and the members of the government are terminated," according to a decree issued by Colonel Assimi Goita that was read out by the secretary general of the presidency, Alfousseyni Diawara, on state television ORTM.

Some key junta figures such as Defence Minister General Sadio Camara and Minister of Reconciliation General Ismael Wague are members of the government.

In June 2022, the junta promised to organise elections and hand over power to civilians by the end of March 2024, but later postponed elections indefinitely.

Maiga on Saturday publicly condemned the lack of clarity regarding the end of the transition to civilian rule.

He said the confusion could pose "serious challenges and the risk of going backwards".

Maiga, 66, previously served as a minister on several occasions and ran three times as a presidential candidate.

He was the civilian face of the junta's strategic pivot away from former colonial ruler France and toward closer political and military ties with Russia.

At the United Nations in September 2021, Maiga denounced what he called the "abandonment in mid-air" regarding the announced withdrawal of the French anti-jihadist force deployed in the country.

He said the withdrawal forced Mali to explore new avenues with other partners, at a time when the presence of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner loomed.

- Increasingly untenable -

Maiga is a key figure in the M5-RFP political movement that took part in protests against Mali's former civilian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was toppled by the military in August 2020.

But Maiga began to distance himself from the junta, prompting speculation for months that he would be sacked.

In May, the M5-RFP movement published a statement openly criticising the military rulers after they failed to meet their deadline to hand back power to civilians.

A close ally of Maiga, who signed the statement, was sentenced to a year in prison in July before being released in September after his sentence was commuted.

Maiga endorsed the statement but had until now kept his position at the head of the government.

After his criticism of the junta on Saturday, Maiga's position became increasingly untenable.

An influential group supporting the military rulers, the Collective for the Defence of the Military (CDM), had called for him to step down within 72 hours.

Limited demonstrations took place on Tuesday in support of the military and calling for the prime minister's resignation.

Maiga's comments gave rise to speculation as to whether he was positioning himself for a possible future presidential election.

J.AbuShaban--SF-PST