The leader of the Malian military junta is promoted to the rank of Army general with a special title

MADRID 17 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The leader of the Malian military junta, Assimi Goita, was promoted this Wednesday to the rank of Army general with a special title, the highest military distinction, by decision of the Council of Ministers, a measure that has also affected other colonels who led alongside he the coup d’état.

The other five influential colonels who have been promoted to the rank of general are the president of the National Transitional Council – the political expression of the junta -, Malick Diaw; the Minister of Defense, Sadio Camara; that of National Reconciliation, Ismail Wague; the director of the National State Security Agency, Modibo Koné; and the Minister of Territorial Administration, Abduleyé Maiga, according to a statement published on the website of the General Secretariat of the Malian Government.

The first four were part of the group of soldiers led by Goita that took power after the 2020 coup d’état (Diaw was ‘number two’ and Wague was one of the main media figures of the coup). For his part, Maiga, who served as interim prime minister in 2022, was not part of it but is considered close to the junta leader.

These promotions are in line with the recommendations of the Inter-Malian Peace Dialogue, which aimed to strengthen the Army to better address security challenges. This decision is interpreted as a signal from the authorities to consolidate military power and establish a clear hierarchy in the context of persistent instability.

The Malian transitional government announced in April the suspension of the activity of political parties and other associations, citing security problems, although Goita assured that the situation is “under control.” It should be noted that the Malian leader promised in March 2022 to complete the transition within 24 months, but the elections called for February of this year were postponed to September 2023 for “technical reasons.”

The authorities have not announced an alternative date for the elections, which represents a blow to the open transition to return power to the civil authorities after the coups d’état of August 2020 and May 2021, and which has meant a rain criticism from the international community.

The Malian military junta opened a transition process after the coup led by Goita in August 2020, when he overthrew the then president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Goita subsequently led a second coup d’état in May 2021 against the transitional authorities – at which time he overthrew the president and prime minister, Bah Ndaw and Moctar Ouane -, subsequently assuming the position of transitional president of Mali.