INTERNACIONAL
Military-led Mali suspends all political activity until further notice
- Mali’s military junta has suspended all political activity indefinitely, in a move following last year’s decision to halt elections.
- Global leaders have expressed concern over the military’s apparent reluctance to relinquish its control of Bamako.
- «The transition government has already made a decision not to hold an election in February, 2024, to return to a civilian-led democratic government despite the commitment that it made publicly in 2022 to do so,» U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said of the move.
Mali’s ruling junta has issued a decree suspending all political activities until further notice, saying it needs to preserve public order, a move that follows last year’s decision to call off elections indefinitely.
Junta spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga read out the statement on state television late Wednesday evening, while the country was celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan in which observant Muslims fast from dawn until dusk.
Mali has experienced two coups since 2020, during a wave of political instability that has swept across West and Central Africa. The country has battled a worsening insurgency by jihadi groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for over a decade.
UNITED NATIONS ENDS MALI PEACEKEEPING MISSION AFTER A DECADE
Col. Assimi Goita, who took charge after a second coup in 2021, promised to return the country to democracy in early 2024. But in September, the junta canceled elections scheduled for February 2024 indefinitely, citing the need for further technical preparations.
The United States said it was «deeply concerned» by the development.
«Freedom of expression and freedom of association are critical to an open society,» State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington. «The transition government has already made a decision not to hold an election in February, 2024, to return to a civilian-led democratic government despite the commitment that it made publicly in 2022 to do so.»
«We call on Mali’s transition government to honor its commitments to its citizens and hold free and fair elections,» Miller said. «In Mali and elsewhere, democracy remains the best foundation for stability and prosperity.»
Analysts said the move was likely a backlash against political figures, civil society and students who have expressed frustration with the junta’s repeated moves to delay the nation’s transition back to democratic rule.
«Recent weeks saw mounting pressure by political parties and figures,» Rida Lyammouri of the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank, told The Associated Press. «For the first time, the public and politicians have publicly criticized junta leaders and accused them of a lack of seriousness.»
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Mali previously relied on French troops to help push back the insurgents. Amid growing frustration over the lack of progress, the ruling junta ordered French troops out and turned to Russian contractors instead for security support. The last French forces departed in August 2022 after almost a decade of operations in Mali.
INTERNACIONAL
Australian girl, 12, killed by crocodile while swimming in creek
Australian authorities discovered the remains of a 12-year-old girl Thursday after she was reportedly snatched by a crocodile while swimming in a creek.
Police Senior Sgt. Erica Gibson told reporters, «It was an extremely difficult, essentially 36 hours, difficult for the first responders involved in the search.»
The child’s disappearance began a nearly two-day search by land, air and water.
Her remains were discovered near the river where the girl had gone missing, southwest of the Northern Territory capital Darwin, in the Indigenous community of Palumpa.
Sgt. Gibson confirmed that the girl’s injuries were from a crocodile attack, saying «The recovery has been made. It was particularly gruesome and a sad, devastating outcome.»
AUSTRALIAN FAMILY DISCOVERS VENOMOUS SNAKE IN CHILD’S BED
«However, for the family, it is the most devastating outcome possible for them. They are in a state of extreme shock and disbelief,» Gibson added.
Saltwater crocodiles are known to be territorial and the killer reptile may still be in nearby waterways. They are known to be a general risk in the Northern Territory, according to The Associated Press.
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Northern Australia is a tropical climate, supporting a boom in saltwater crocodile populations since populations have been conserved under Australian law beginning in the 1970s.
The population of large crocodiles is on the rise in Northern Australia, with some reptiles reaching up to 23 feet long. The animals grow throughout their lives, and crocodiles can live up to around 70 years of age.
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Sgt. Gibson told reporters that the search efforts for the killer crocodile are still underway.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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