The Malian military this week ejected the civilian government following two months of street protests, setting the stage for more turmoil in the restive Sahel region. On the morning of Tuesday, August 18, soldiers mutinied at the Kati military base outside the capital of Bamako and detained President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK), Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, and a number of senior military officers and civilian cabinet officials. IBK announced his resignation and the dissolution of the cabinet and National Assembly after midnight on national television, saying that he was bowing to the military’s request because he didn’t want “any bloodshed.”
