At least two people have been killed and several others wounded as police clashed with protesters in Bamako on Wednesday following the arrest of a popular radio presenter.
Mali: Police clash with protesters over radio presenter's arrest
Mohammed Youssouf Bathily was arrested after his opinion piece pointed out that jihadists have started having an upper hand as they battle with Malian armed forces.
Another commentary suggested that Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is unfit to lead the army to victory.
The radio presenter used the social media to mobilise the crowd which turned out massively to support him outside a court where he was due to appear.
Mohammed Ali Bathily is the son of Mali’s minister of land tenure and several other top government officials have found his commentaries a bitter pill to swallow.