Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
The United States decided on Saturday that it would suspend military aid to Mali after the rebels managed to coup and detain the president of the country in West Africa.
“There will be no further training or support for the Malian military forces, we have stopped everything until we can clarify the situation,” US special envoy to Mali, J Peter Pham told media.
“It remains unclear which troops were involved in the uprising, who was specifically involved and where the loyalists were,” he said.
On Tuesday (18/8), rebel forces managed to arrest Mali’s unpopular President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who is 75 years old.
They forced Keita to announce his resignation as president and the junta would be in power until a “transitional president” took over.
Pham said the US government, which said it was concerned about the jihadist coup, had been in contact with the junta, which calls itself the National Committee to Save Malians.
“This contact is operational,” said Pham. “They [Pemerintah AS] implying not acknowledgment but acceptance, that these people are now on a certain level and controlling certain things, “
Pham, who refused to use the word “coup”, called the takeover “of course not going to help”.
The US along with a number of other countries and the Malian military are known to be working together to fight groups linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS in the region.
Washington currently provides surveillance and logistical support for French troops in the country.
Pham reiterated US requests for the rebels to release Keita considering the man’s age and health.
“He is the duly elected head of state,” Pham said.
(AFP / end)
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