In less than a year, the Malian army regained power for the second time.

Nine months after large-scale anti-government protests overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (Ibrahim Boubacar Keita), on Monday, after announcing that the new cabinet announced the exclusion of the two main military leaders. Hours later, the army detained President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane.

Colonel Assimi Goita, who led the coup in August 2020, is the vice chairman of the transitional government formed by Ndaw in late September. His mission is to guide the country to achieve complete civilian rule. Including the general strike initiated by the main unions in Mali.

The retired officer Ndaw was taken to the military base, and Wuane resigned on Wednesday. Later in the day, the UN Security Council condemned the “use of force, including forced resignation to change the transitional leadership” as “unacceptable.”

But by Friday, Takata has already Appointment of interim president Ruling by the Constitutional Court of Mali.

According to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, it coincided with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) inviting military leaders to hold talks with the current chairman of the region, President Nana Akufo Addo of Ghana. Negotiations are scheduled to take place on Sunday.

France, which has thousands of troops fighting armed groups in Mali, also criticized the army’s takeover as “unacceptable.” President Emmanuel Macron warned against those he called “coups in progress.” The “coup d’état” implemented “targeted sanctions.”

After last year’s coup, ECOWAS withdrew Mali from its institutions and announced a series of sanctions, including closing borders and halting capital flows.

However, some analysts have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of such measures and whether they are the best way to restore civilian rule.

“The sanctions regime has not been very successful,” Emmanuel Kwesi Anning, research director of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center, told Al Jazeera.

People can trade; the boundaries are porous. However, the fact that ECOWAS is trying to impose sanctions without considering Mali’s political, economic and social realities means that the sanctions regime itself has become a fierce battle, making people very critical of ECOWAS. “

“At present, I think any re-imposition of sanctions or decisions will be counterproductive. Regarding the real needs of the people of Mali, we need more nuanced dialogue.” An Ning added.

Washington said on Wednesday that it is “suspending security assistance to Mali’s security and defense forces,” which is working to contain armed groups in the northern and central regions of the country.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement: “The United States will also consider targeted measures against political and military leaders that will hinder Mali’s civilian-dominated democratic governance. transition.”

Since the 2012 uprising prompted rebel soldiers to overthrow the president, Mali has been in turmoil.

The power vacuum helped the Tuareg separatists ally with the fighters of the al-Qaeda branch, launched a rebellion, and took control of northern Mali. Combatants from the armed group quickly pushed towards the Tuareg rebels and occupied important northern cities until the French-led counteroffensive expelled them in early 2013.

But combatants are still active. Since 2015, groups associated with Al-Qaida and ISIL have moved from the arid north to densely populated central Mali, attacking targets and sparking hostility and violence among the various ethnic groups in the area .

What is worrying is that the latest developments in Bamako may make the fragile security situation more unstable.

“it [the coup] An Ning said: “This will not only lead to violent activities in Mali and the resurrection of more armed groups, but also a symbol of the military’s ability to come back and hold power.”

Before the recent coup, Mali plans to hold presidential and legislative elections in February next year. Gotta promised last Friday that the polls will proceed as planned.

He also said that he will elect a prime minister within a few days. This number will come from the opposition’s June 5th Patriotic Movement Rally (M5-RFP), the powerful organization behind the street demonstrations against Keita last year. .

The M5-RFP movement was eliminated in the coup last year when the organization established a transitional institution.

Jean-Herve Jezequel of Crisis Group said in a speech Publication The next few days of this week will be “decisive,” and political deadlock is also possible.

He added: “But whatever the outcome, the new crisis highlights the lack of a strong alliance to support the transition, especially its announced ambitions to reform Mali’s political system.” “This aspect is perhaps the most worrying: in After all these crises, Mali still does not know what kind of political force can bring about the changes the country needs.”

For Moussa Kondo, a civil society activist and head of the Mali Accountability Laboratory, the election is “the cause that will free Mali from this cycle.”

He told Al Jazeera: “We Malians have been facing a challenging situation between the president and the military government.” “We need to find a peaceful and transparent solution that is acceptable to all Malians.”