By ReutersBAMAKO - Malian soldiers arrested Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra late on Monday, accusing him of blocking efforts to stabilize a nation divided by a coup in the capital and the Islamist takeover of the desert north.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (http://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld) "He was arrested ... as he tried to leave for France," said Bakary Mariko, a spokesman for the group of soldiers who seized power in a March coup. The group remains powerful despite officially handing power back to civilians earlier this year.
Diarra's arrest was confirmed by a diplomat in Mali.
The move will complicate efforts to stabilize the West African nation, where soldiers and politicians remain divided since the coup in March and where the north of the country is occupied by al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters.
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