Mali's interim president has named a replacement prime minister less than a day after his predecessor was forced out and put under house arrest, provoking international condemnation.
The arrest has deepened concerns about Mali's stability at a time when the international community was considering backing a military intervention, including Malian soldiers, to claim the country's north from the hands of radical Islamists.
The president of neighbouring Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, who has served as a mediator, said on Wednesday that the latest developments threatened to worsen the Malian crisis.
Longtime civil servant Diango Cissoko was chosen late Tuesday as the new prime minister in Mali's transitional government, first set up after the military coup in March.
The military ousting of his predecessor Cheikh Modibo Diarra has prompted fierce criticism from the UN, US and African Union, among others.
The president of the AU commission strongly condemned recent events in Mali and called for the "complete subordination of the army and security forces to civilian rule".
German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle also warned that the forced resignation made western countries wary of getting involved in a military incursion in the north.
"One thing is clear: our offers of help come with the condition that the process of restoring constitutional order in Mali be conducted credibly," he said.
The latest developments have also raised concerns among ordinary Malians. Maouloud Daou, who lives in Hombori, a city under the control of radical Islamists, said: "We don't really understand the reaction of Captain Sanogo [the coup leader]. Instead of creating an atmosphere of understanding between politicians in Bamako to resolve our problem in the north, Sanogo still continues to create trouble in Bamako."
Cissoko, 62, held a number of positions under the administration of longtime president Amadou Toumani Touré, who was overthrown by mutinous soldiers in March. Coup leader Sanogo never relinquished control despite pledges to do so, and on Monday forces loyal to him arrested Diarra at his home.
Junta spokesman Bakary Mariko acknowledged that soldiers allied with the coup leader had detained the previous prime minister and had him under house arrest. Mariko said Diarra was "not getting along" with either the interim president or Sanogo.
Two security officials, including a police officer and an intelligence agent, confirmed that Sanogo had ordered the prime minister's arrest.
On state television on Tuesday, Sanogo accused Diarra of pursuing his personal ambitions rather than the good of the country.
"We didn't force him. We facilitated [his resignation]. A few weeks ago, he himself told us that if we really wanted him to leave, that he would hand in [his resignation] but not to the president of the republic, nor to any other authority – only to us," said Sanogo. "Yesterday we realized that it was really necessary for him to resign. And it's for this reason that we brought him to Kati."
Diarra was initially seen as being in-step with Sanogo. Critics lambasted him for frequently driving to the Kati barracks to see the coup leader, long after Sanogo was supposed to have handed power to civilians. In recent weeks though, Diarra has taken stances that sometimes conflicted with Sanogo.
Cissoko won favour with Sanogo by giving him equal standing with the interim president and prime minister during mediation efforts to resolve Mali's political crisis.
The military's meddling in state affairs has concerned the international community. Many worry that supporting the operation will simply further arm and embolden the very officers responsible for Mali's current state.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called Diarra's arrest a setback for Mali. "We need Sanogo and his brothers-in-arms to stay out of politics," she told reporters.
The UN security council threatened to impose sanctions against those blocking a return to constitutional order in Mali and called on the armed forces to stop interfering in state affairs.
