Junta in Mali averts counter-coup

Junta soldiers in Mali foiled a counter-coup bid by presidential guardsmen on Tuesday. The guardsmen attempted to overrun the junta base in Bamako and attack the airport and state broadcaster.
The clashes in the West African state – a posterchild of African democracy before a March 22 putsch and a Tuareg rebellion thrust it into chaos – came as a setback to early international efforts to restore constitutional order.
France, Mali's former colonial ruler, said it was "extremely concerned" by the clashes and called for them to stop, while West African regional bloc ECOWAS said the fighting had delayed talks intended to guide its transition.
"Only by re-establishing civil order will the transitional government be able to deal with the situation it faces," a French foreign ministry spokesman said.
Members of the red beret presidential guard unit attacked important sites in and around Bamako late on Monday and into Tuesday in an apparent attempt to unseat the junta that has been in power since it ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure.
Fatal fighting
At least 27 people have been killed in the fighting, which centered on the state television broadcaster, the airport and the main camps of the rival military factions, according to medical sources and other witnesses.
Fighting died down Tuesday afternoon after the junta took control of the presidential guard barracks in Bamako.
Dozens of residents near the presidential guard unit's camp, scene of heavy shooting since fighting broke out late on Monday, broke into applause as the junta soldiers entered the deserted compound firing their weapons into the air in celebration.
"The camp has fallen, it is empty and the red berets have left," a junta officer said, asking not to be named.
A witness said he counted at least 10 dead bodies in and around the camp, most wearing presidential guard uniforms. He said the wives of the soldiers that had been living in the barracks had fled to nearby mosques.
Junta statement
The junta issued a statement later on Tuesday saying it was in control of the state broadcaster, the airport and other important sites, and adding that the counter-coup bid had been backed by foreign fighters.
"The events yesterday were probably [caused] by mercenaries from elsewhere with backing from some paratroopers," junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo, wearing a green beret and uniform and perched on a white sofa, said over state television.
The station broadcast images of captured fighters, including one that held up a Burkina Faso identification card after a junta soldier pulled on his ear and ordered him to present himself to the camera.
Sanogo urged remaining red berets to put down their weapons and hand themselves over to junta authorities.[related-articles]
Transitional government calls for calm
Sanogo's junta overthrew Toure after an army mutiny driven by frustration over the government's handling of a Tuareg rebellion in the vast desert north that has since split the country in two.
The coup derailed an April election meant to replace Toure, and has been internationally condemned. West African regional bloc ECOWAS has said it plans to deploy more than 3,000 troops to oversee a transition back to democratic rule.
The renewed clashes marked a serious setback for the gold-producing West African nation after the junta had agreed to an interim government as a first step to restoring constitutional order after the coup.
Hamadoun Toure, spokesman for the transitional government, urged Malians to remain hopeful.
"The prime minister and government would like to urge people to stay calm and invites them stay hopeful. The PM would like to reassure them that he was taking all measures to restore normality," he said on state television.
Speaking to a local radio station overnight, Sanogo said the fighting broke out after he had sent some units to the presidential guard barracks to tell them that Malian forces should remain united during the transition.
Source: Reuters