Video of Mali Coup Announcement As my colleague Adam Nossiter reports, junior army officers took control of the presidential palace and a television station in the West African state of Mali in what appeared to be a coup attempt. Video of their announcement, shown on the station they had seized, appeared online shortly after. A crowd of uniformed men stand around a man identified as Lt. Amadou Konaré, who delivers a statement to the camera. "The republican forces of the state," Lieutenant Konaré said, "have decided to take responsibility to end the incompetent regime of Amadou Toumani Touré and repudiate it." He said the country's constitution would be suspended and that "all the institutions of the republic are dissolved until further notice." Later, according to Radio France Internationale, the officers said that they had closed all of the countries borders, on land and by air. The airport was closed on Thursday and all departures canceled, Radio France Internationale reported. According to Info Matin, a privately owned Malian daily, the situation in the capital, Bamako, "seems under the total control" of those loyal to the officers, who referred to themselves as the National Committee for the Recovery of Democracy and the Restoration of the State (le Comité national pour le redressement de la démocratie et la restauration de l'Etat, or C.N.R.D.R.E.), Explosions and gunfire have been heard since Wednesday afternoon, the paper reported. The whereabouts of the President Touré, who many in Mali refer to simply as ATT, were not immediately known and there were rumors abounding that he had fled, had been arrested or perhaps had sought refuge at the United States Embassy. That report was immediately denied. David Lewis, a Reuters reporter in Bamako, posted updates to his Twitter account on the situation there, which remained tense and uncertain on Thursday. Earlier, the president's official Twitter account posted denials that a coup had taken place, insisting instead that the events were a mutiny by some in the armed forces: "There is no coup d'etat in Mali. There is just a mutiny in the garrison of Kati" near the capital. "For proof, I'm posting from the Presidential Palace," read another post. The last appeared on Wednesday afternoon. Jeune Afrique, a news site covering West Africa, reported that military leaders in the garrison city of Kati were visited on Wednesday by the country's defense minister and that the meeting did not go well and there were shots fired in the air. "The mutinous men then entered the headquarters of the national television station," the site reported, and there was also a mutiny reported in the town of Gao, in the northeastern part of the country. The attempted coup broke out as officials were in Bamako for an African Union meeting on peace and security. Moses Wetangula, the minister of foreign affairs for Kenya, wrote on his Facebook page early on Thursday that he and other visiting officials were trapped in a hotel and could hear gunfire in the street: It is 5.30am in Bamako. Sporadic gunshots can be heard. Both myself & officers B. Munzala, G. Ng'eno & A. Safari from my ministry holed up in hotel. Difficult to tell exact situation. He wrote later that things appeared to be deteriorating and that he has spoken to Jean Ping of Gabon, the current chair of the African union: "Situation worsening. Curfew imposed. Airport closed. Heavier gunfire can be heard repeatedly. Received call from AU ch Dr Jean Ping. Scores commented on his posts, prompting him to respond later: To all friends and compatriots both I & my delegation are touched and overwhelmed by your concern, support and prayers. The situation remains unchanged but we feel encouraged and stronger! God bless you all. Robert Mackey contributed reporting.