Mali president ‘safe’ after coup, claims source

File photo of Mali's President Amadou Toumani Toure delivering a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg 

Mali President Amadou Toumani Toure, who was forced to flee his palace during an overnight coup, is unharmed and in a safe location, a loyalist military source said on Thursday.

“The president is in good health and in a safe location,” the official said on condition of anonymity, without elaborating on Toure’s whereabouts. He said the interior and defence ministers were also safe.

“The situation is evolving rapidly. We are trying to see who is behind all this.”

Toure, who has served two terms, was to step down after a presidential election scheduled for April 29. The Malian official reacted angrily at French Minister Alain Juppe’s call for polls to be held as soon as possible.

“In situations such as these, you don’t call for early elections. The first thing you should ask for is the restoration of constitutional order,” he said.