Malians demonstrate to protest military coup

Malians have taken to the streets in the capital city of Bamako to protest against the junta which seized power after a recent coup d’état. On Monday, more than 1,000 people staged a demonstration in front of the Bamako stock exchange nearly a week after renegade Malian soldiers deposed President Amadou Toumani Toure. Protesters began their march by singing the Malian national anthem and held banners reading “We demand a return to constitutional order," and "Down with the putschists, long live democracy, long live Mali." The rally was held on a national holiday celebrating Mali’s previous coup on March 26, 1991, when Toure led a group of soldiers to end the 23-year-old rule of Moussa Traore after Traore violently cracked down on a huge protest march in central Bamako. After leading the country to its first multiparty elections a year later, he handed power to civilian authorities in June 1992. Toure was considered a hero and was later democratically elected in 2002 after retiring from army. He was re-elected president in 2007 and the country’s presidential election was scheduled to be held on April 29. On March 22, renegade Malian soldiers led by Amadou Haya Sanogo, stormed the presidential palace and took control of government institutions. The rebellion ignited Wednesday afternoon over criticism against the government’s handling of a Tuareg insurrection in northern Mali. The African Union, the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, The International Crisis Group, the United Nations and the United States have condemned the coup. On Monday, the US State Department announced that it had decided to halt aid to Mali, and called for the elected government to be restored.