Mali President, PM Released From Military Custody

Officials in Mali say the country's interim president and prime minister have been released, one day after they resigned while in military custody.   The United States supports ECOWAS and the African Union, and strongly condemns the detention of civilian leaders of Mali’s transition government. We stand with the people of Mali in their pursuit of democracy, peace, and respect for human rights. https://t.co/1VnvcRXJpo

The military arrested interim president Bah N'daw and his prime minister, Moctar Ouane, on Monday in the capital, Bamako, triggering a fresh political crisis in the troubled West African country.  Vice President Colonel Assimi Goita has effectively taken power in what amounts to Mali's second coup in nine months.  Reuters news agency quoted a top aide to Goita, Baba Cisse, as saying the release of N'daw and Ouane was scheduled and that officials "have nothing against them."