I was going through my Twitter feed when I noticed Ethan Zuckerman’s tweet about this Associated Press article: Mali Coup leader stays put, despite sanctions.

This is the first coup d’etat in Mali since 1991, when then-lieutenant colonel Amadou Toumani Toure removed Moussa Traore from office in the “March Revolution.” Amadou Toumani Toure was elected president in 2002 and was scheduled to step down in the presidential elections April 29, 2012.

The origins of this “accidental coup” can be traced back to the rise of Tuareg rebels, who returned home to northern Mali heavily armed after fighting for Muammar el-Qaddafi in the Libyan civil war. Since Mali gained independence from France in 1960, the nomadic Tuareg people have fought for the creation of a new state three times: 1962-64, 1990-95 and 2006. The heavily armed Tuareg rebels have helped reignite the separatist movement earlier this year.

In the months leading up to the coup, Mali soldiers have been frustrated by their lack of weaponry to fight the Tuareg rebels, who have captured several towns in northern Mali. The coup was ignited March 21, 2012, when the Mali defense minister Sadio Gassama visited the Kati military camp to try to defuse a planned protest by the Malian Army. The soldiers booed and threw stones at Sadio Gassama’s car, forcing him to temporarily seek refuge from his own troops. Later that day, Mali soldiers took over the presidential palace and Office of Radio and Television of Mali in Bamako, capital of Mali.

January 17, 2012
After Malian government fails to engage in dialogue and sends troops to the Touareg region of northern Mali, National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) exchanges fire with Mali troops and takes over town of Menaka
Source: MNLA

January 21, 2012
MNLA issues final appeal to evacuate all foreign nationals from Azawad
Source: MNLA

March 21, 2012
Mali’s Brigadier General Sadio Gassama visits the Kati military camp to defuse protests planned by soldiers in the camp for March 22 over the bad management of the conflict with the Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali

Malian soliders boo and throw stones at Sadio Gassama’s car. Sadio Gassama is sequestered for his own safety, then released.

Malian soldiers storm presidential palace and the Office of Radio and Television of Mali in Bamako, capital of Mali.
Sources: New York Times, Reuters

March 22, 2012
National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR) leader Amadou Haya Sanogo appears on Malian TV to announce curfew and appeal for calm in Bamako.
Sources: Guardian, Youtube

France suspends all cooperation with Mali
Source: Foreign Ministry of France

March 23, 2012
African Union suspends Mali from African Union
Source: African Union

March 26, 2012
U.S. State Department cuts off aid to Mali. The U.S. provides $140 million annually in aid to Mali. The U.S. said it would continue to provide humanitarian and food aid to Mali, which means that half the annual aid could be cut by the sanctions.
Source: State Department

March 28, 2012
Mali’s deposed president Amadou Toumani Toure tells Radio France Internationale he is free and unharmed
Source: Radio France Internationale

Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo gives interview to Time magazine
Source: Time

March 29, 2012
The Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) dispatch high level delegation to Mali. ECOWAS give Amadou Haya Sanogo 72-hours to hand over power to civilians or else they would impose an embargo on Mali.
Source:ECOWAS

April 1, 2012
Tuareg seize regional capitals Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu

April 3, 2012
UN Commission for Human Rights estimates that 200,000 people have fled northern Mali due to the fighting.
Source: UN

U.S. Imposes Visa Restrictions on Malian Mutineers
Source: State Department

State Department press statement on Political and Security Situation in Mali
Source: State Department

Mali Coup leader stays put, despite sanctions
Source: Associated Press