Mali lawyer critical of junta abducted overnight
A well-known Malian lawyer and politician critical of the ruling junta was abducted overnight by masked men in the capital Bamako, members of his family told AFP Sunday.
The disappearance of Me Mountaga Tall comes as Mali's junta faces a major crisis following large-scale attacks on several of its strategic positions last weekend and the killing of its defence minister.
The assaults are being carried out by Tuareg separatists and Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists.
Tall was a member of the M5-RFP movement, a key player in the protests that led to the toppling of former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in 2020.
Initially an ally of the military officers who seized power in 2020, he subsequently distanced himself from the junta, becoming a vocal critic.
"Two men in balaclavas came to take him away, they left with him," a family member who witnessed the scene told AFP, adding that the family had filed a complaint for abduction.
Tall's wife, who attempted to take photos of the episode, was manhandled by the masked men and had her phone taken away, another family member told AFP.
Malian court grants freedom to detained critics of military junta
Last weekend's attacks targeted several strategic positions held by the junta and army across Mali, notably in Bamako and the nearby garrison town Kati, and left at least 23 people dead.
Civilians and children were among those killed and injured during the attacks, according to UNICEF.
On Friday, the prosecutor's office said it had "solid evidence" of "complicity" of certain military personnel, accusing them of helping with the "planning, coordination and execution" of the attacks.
It also alleged that exiled opposition politician Oumar Mariko, a former lawmaker and presidential candidate, had been involved.
Tall is serving as a defence lawyer for several military officers arrested in recent months by the junta on charges of "attempting to destabilise state institutions".
He has also filed legal challenges in various courts to contest the junta's decision to dissolve political parties.
Mali plunged into uncertainty following coordinated attacks on junta
The west African nation is facing a critical security situation. Mali's army and its Russian mercenary allies surrendered a strategic northern military stronghold to armed rebels on Friday, as Tuareg separatists and jihadists wage a unified front to bring down the country's junta.
On Friday, forces from Mali's key Tessalit "super-camp" near the Algerian border surrendered the military installation and scattered southward, an official from the FLA (the Azawad Liberation Front) told AFP.
The retreat comes one day after JNIM (the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims) began a road blockade on the capital, Bamako.
No clashes took place at Tessalit, a security source in Gao told AFP, adding that regular troops had already evacuated when the assailants entered.
A local elected official additionally confirmed to AFP that the Russians had abandoned their position there.
Tessalit serves as a strategic base due to its geographical location and features a well-maintained airstrip capable of accommodating helicopters and other large military aircraft.
It had hosted a significant number of Malian troops and their Russian allies, in addition to a substantial quantity of military equipment.
"Tessalit is the oldest base built by the colonial power (France)", a military officer told AFP, adding that its position in the far north offered "a panoramic view of the entire Sahara".
Earlier this week a spokesman for the Tuareg rebels not only vowed that they will conquer the country's north but predicted that the junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, will "fall".