A prominent Malian lawyer and politician, a critic of the ruling junta, was abducted overnight by masked men in the capital Bamako, family members told AFP on Sunday.
The disappearance of Me Mountaga Tall comes as the Malian junta faces a major crisis following large-scale attacks against several of its strategic positions last weekend and the assassination of its Minister of Defense.
These attacks are being carried out by Tuareg separatists and jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda.
Tall was a member of the M5-RFP movement, a key player in the protests that led to the downfall of former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Initially an ally of the military who seized power in 2020, he later distanced himself from the junta, becoming one of its most virulent critics.
"Two hooded men came and took him away, they left with him," a family member who witnessed the scene told AFP, adding that the family had filed a complaint for kidnapping.
Tall's wife, who tried to take pictures of the scene, was roughed up by the masked men and had her phone confiscated, another family member told AFP.
Last weekend's attacks targeted several strategic positions held by the junta and the army across Mali, including in Bamako and the nearby garrison town of Kati, and left at least 23 dead.
According to UNICEF, civilians and children were among those killed and injured in these attacks.
On Friday, the prosecutor's office said it had "solid evidence" of the "complicity" of certain military personnel, accusing them of having contributed to the "planning, coordination and execution" of the attacks.
He also claimed that exiled political opponent Oumar Mariko, a former member of parliament and presidential candidate, was involved.
Tall is providing legal counsel to several military officers arrested in recent months by the junta for "attempting to destabilize state institutions".
He has also filed appeals in various courts to challenge the junta's decision to dissolve political parties.
