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The West Africa bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday condemned a military putsch in Mali and pledged a range of retaliatory actions, including financial sanctions. Rebel soldiers arrested Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse on Tuesday afternoon following weeks of political tension in the country. The dramatic move followed the seizure of an army base near the capital Bamako that morning. In a statement, the Economic Community for West African States said that its members would close land and air borders to Mali and pledged to demand sanctions against “all the putschists and their partners and collaborators”. The 15-nation bloc — which includes Mali — also said that it would suspend the country from its internal decision-making bodies. “ECOWAS has noted with great concern the seizure of power by Malian military putschists,” said the statement, which was originally published in French. Mali has been in the grip of a deep political impasse since June, with P...

Ibrahim Keita, current president of Mali has resigned his position in order to avoid “bloodshed" hours after his arrest by troops in a sudden coup that followed a long political crisis in the West African nation, AFP reports. The President and Prime Minister,  Boubou Cise, were detained on Tuesday afternoon and drove to a military base in the town of Katie, near the capital Bamako by soldiers. Ibrahim appeared untroubled as he appeared in a state television broadcast after midnight to declare the dissolution of the government and National Assembly, and stated that he had no choice but to resign with immediate effect. France and the European Union all warned against any unconstitutional transfer of power as the coup played out on Tuesday. The Economic Community for West African States also condemned the coup in a statement, pledging to close land and air borders to Mali and push for sanctions against “all the putschists and their partners and collaborators."