(VOVworld) The West African country of Mali has seen growing uncertainty since a military coup 2 weeks ago. Diplomatic messages from the UN and other countries have been arriving and some sanctions have been imposed. But order and security have not yet been restored and the situation remains muddled. There is concern that the country will be divided and become a new terrorist enclave. VOV foreign desk editor Hong Van looks at Mali on the verge of becoming West Africa’s newest hotspot.  

Coup leaders pledge to calm the political crisis (Photo: AFP)

Mali politics plunged into crisis when a group of rebellious army officers who call themselves the National Committee for the Return of Democracy and the Restoration of the State (CNRDR) siezed power and denounced President Amadou Toumani Touré’s incompetence in dealing with an independence movement led by Tuareg community in the north. The coup forces announced the suspension of the constitution and the dissolution of state offices. Although the coup leaders have made commitments to calm the political crisis, they haven’t set out a detailed timeline. Captain Amadou Sanogo, who led the coup, promised to restore the 1992 Constitution, re-establish state entities, and hand over power to an elected government. He also pledged to consult with established political parties on holding of a peaceful, free and democratic election without military involvement. But an election schedule is nowhere in sight.

Mali is now facing threats of social division and instability. While the coup forces struggle to honor their commitments, the Tuared-led National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamic armed group of Ansar Dine, believed to have links with an Al-Qaeda branch in North Africa, have launched attacks on Mali’s northern cities. They are now in control of Timbuktu, the biggest city in the north, after seizing the cities of Kidal and Gao. Azawad leaders say they will form their own government and constitution in areas seized from the Malian military with the goal of establishing an independent state in northern Mali. This division is causing 400 people a day to flee their homes and take a refuge in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mauritania. 

The international community fears that the Tuareg insurrection in Mali may spread to Niger and the whole Sahel in region, which includes Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and South Sudan. Mali’s cup could ignite a regional conflict.

Obviously, the army coup has done more harm than good to the West African nation. The UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the Mali crisis on Wednesday. Earlier, it condemned the coup’s ' forcible seizure of power’ and called for the restoration of Mali’s constitution and democratically-elected government. The US has urged insurgents in northern Mali to stop military actions and reach a compromise for national integrity. In a tougher move, the African Union has imposed a series of sanctions, including a travel ban and the freezing of the assets of coup leaders and supporters. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced a comprehensive embargo against the military regime in Mali. Military leaders from 15 ECOWAS member countries will meet on Thursday to discuss the deployment of 3,000 troops to northern Mali.