Mali’s ruling military government has detained roughly 20 soldiers on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the junta, according to security and parliamentary sources cited by Agence France-Presse. Some accounts inside the National Transition Council put the number of arrests closer to 50. The wave of detentions began three days ago and includes General Abass Dembele, a former governor of the central Mopti region who was taken from the garrison town of Kati outside Bamako on Sunday. Authorities have not publicly stated the charges, but military sources described the operation as a response to an “attempt at destabilisation.” Colonel Assimi Goïta’s junta seized power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021 and last month secured a five-year renewable presidential mandate from the military-appointed legislature. The latest purge underscores ongoing tensions within the armed forces, which are grappling with jihadist insurgencies, economic hardship and criticism over the prominent role of Russian military contractors. The government had not issued an official statement on the arrests as of late Sunday.