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WHO GAVE THE ORDERS?

Mali Coup Leaders Seized Power Days After Returning From Military Training Camp in Russia

The two militants who led the coup in Mali spent most of the year training in Russia, they returned to West Africa days before overthrowing the president.

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ANNIE RISEMBERG

By Philip Obaji Jr.

ABUJA, Nigeria—The leaders of the coup that ousted Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita spent most of the year training in Russia before returning to boot out the democratically-elected leader at gunpoint, according to sources in the Malian military.

The rebels took control of Mali’s largest military base in Kati, just outside the capital, Bamako, on Tuesday before storming Keita’s official residence, seizing the president and forcing him to resign as leader of the West African nation..

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Philip Obaji Jr.
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