Soldiers stormed the presidential palace of one of the few established democracies in this corner of Africa and announced Thursday that they had seized control of the country, ousting Mali's president just one month before he was due to step down at the end of his legal term. 
 
 Civilians cheer as mutinous soldiers drive past, in front of a backdrop of burning tires, in Bamako, Mali Wednesday March 21, 2012. Gunshots could still be heard in the Malian capital late Wednesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Civilians cheer as mutinous soldiers drive past in Bamako, Mali Wednesday March 21, 2012. Gunshots could still be heard in the Malian capital late Wednesday, hours after angry troops started a mutiny... (Associated Press) 
 
 A soldier participating in a mutiny stands near civilians and burning tires lit in support of the mutiny, in Bamako, Mali Wednesday March 21, 2012. Gunshots could still be heard in the Malian capital... (Associated Press) 
 
 Civilians walk past burning tires lit in support of mutinying soldiers, in Bamako, Mali Wednesday March 21, 2012. Gunshots could still be heard in the Malian capital late Wednesday, hours after angry... (Associated Press) 
 
 Gunfire could be heard ringing throughout the capital, and the mutinous soldiers imposed a nationwide curfew. A flight headed to the capital of Bamako was forced to make a U-turn in the air after the airport closed. 
 
 The soldiers said they are overthrowing the government because of its mishandling of an ethnic Tuareg insurgency in the country's north that began in mid-January. The rebellion grew when fighters who had supported the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi returned home heavily armed. The unrest has forced tens of thousands to flee, and has prompted fierce criticism of Mali's government. 
 
 Early Thursday, a group of around 20 soldiers in military fatigues were shown on national television crowding around a desk, facing the camera. 
 
 They announced that Mali is now under the control of the military's National Committee for the Reestablishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State, or CNRDR. They said they were suspending Mali's constitution and dissolving its institutions. 
 
 The soldiers complained that the civilian government had not done enough to combat a rebellion by the ethnic Tuareg separatists, who want to carve out a homeland in the country's northern desert. 
 
 "The CNRDR representing all the elements of the armed forces, defensive forces and security forces has decided to assume its responsibilities and end the incompetent and disavowed regime of (President) Amadou Toumani Toure," they said, reading from a statement. "The objective of the CNRDR does not in any way aim to confiscate power, and we solemnly swear to return power to a democratically elected president as soon as national unity and territorial integrity are established." 
 
 The West African regional bloc ECOWAS said it "strongly condemns the misguided actions of the mutineers." 
 
 The group said it was "all the more reprehensible, coming amidst the ongoing regional and international efforts to seek a peaceful solution to the rebellion in the north of the country." 
 
 The coup is a major setback for one of the region's few established democracies. The ousted president came to power himself in a 1991 coup, but was hailed for handing power to civilians. A decade later, he won the 2002 democratic election. The 63-year-old Toure was due to step down next month after two, five-year terms. 
 
 His whereabouts were unknown on Thursday. Contacted by telephone, a soldier at the palace said that the president's bodyguards had failed to fight the renegade soldiers, who burst in. They searched the grounds looking for him, but could not find Toure. 
 
 The events that culminated in the coup began Wednesday morning at a military camp in the capital, where Defense Minister Gen. Sadio Gassama came for an official visit. In his speech to the troops, the minister failed to address the grievances of the rank-and-file soldiers. The rebellion has claimed the lives of numerous soldiers, and those sent to fight say they are not given sufficient supplies, including arms or food. 
 
 Recruits started firing into the air Wednesday morning. By afternoon, troops had surrounded the state television station in central Bamako, located in southwest Mali, yanking both the television and radio signals off the air for the rest of the day. By Wednesday evening, troops had started rioting at a military garrison located in the northern town of Gao, some 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away. 
 
 A freelance journalist from Sweden who was driving to her hotel near the TV station around 4 p.m. Wednesday said that trucks full of soldiers had surrounded the state broadcaster, where they set up machine guns facing the building. 
 
 "They came and started setting up checkpoints. There were military in the streets, stopping people," said Katarina Hoije. "When we reached our hotel which is just in front of the TV station, there were lots of military outside, and more cars kept arriving _ pickup trucks with soldiers on them." 
 
 In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: "The situation is currently unclear and unfolding quickly ... There are reports of military forces surrounding the presidential palace and movement of vehicles between the palace and the military barracks." 
 
 The Tuaregs, a traditionally nomadic people spread across the Sahara Desert, have risen up against the central government in Mali several times since the country's independence from France in 1960. 
 
 The newest rebellion launched in mid-January broke years of relative peace, and has been fueled by the return of Tuaregs from Libya who had fought in Gadhafi's army. Refugees have spilled over into four of the countries neighboring Mali due to the uprising. 
 
 Thousands of Tuaregs moved from Mali to Libya over the decades beginning in the 1970s, and many joined special divisions of Gadhafi's military where they earned higher salaries than in Mali. A relationship developed between the Tuareg and Gadhafi, who claimed they had distant blood links. 
 
 When the Gadhafi regime fell last year, Tuareg troops smuggled Gadhafi family members to neighboring Algeria and Niger. After Gadhafi was killed in his hometown of Sirte in October, many Tuaregs no longer felt safe in Libya and began returning to Mali. 
 
 The government has not disclosed how many government soldiers have been killed. The toll is believed to be significant and in February, military widows led a protest, publicly grilling Toure on television over his handling of the rebellion. 
 
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 Associated Press writers Rukmini Callimachi and Michelle Faul in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption It is unclear where the president and members of his government are now 
 
 Rebel troops have appeared on Malian state TV to announce they have seized control of the country, hours after attacking the presidential palace. 
 
 The soldiers said a nationwide curfew was in force and that the constitution had been suspended. 
 
 The troops, who staged a mutiny on Wednesday, say the government is not giving them enough arms to tackle a rebellion by ethnic Tuaregs. 
 
 West African regional body Ecowas has condemned the actions of the troops. 
 
 In a statement, it said it had followed the situation with "dismay and mounting concern", describing the behaviour of the mutinous soldiers as "reprehensible" and "misguided". 
 
 Mali troop mutiny Image copyright ORTMTV Image caption It is not clear whether Capt Amadou Sanogo has the support of all Malian forces Mutiny leader Capt Amadou Sanogo (pictured above) has imposed a national curfew 
 
 It follows anger among troops at the government's handling of a Tuareg rebellion in the north 
 
 The whereabouts of President Amadou Toumani Toure are unknown 
 
 A number of ministers have been arrested 
 
 Country has had democratic rule for 20 years Troops in Mali attack palace Mali country profile 
 
 It comes after the renegade troops had staged a mutiny traded gunfire with soldiers loyal to the government. 
 
 A source told the BBC that the foreign minister and a number of other ministers have been arrested. 
 
 On Wednesday the mutineers had taken over the state radio and TV broadcaster in Bamako and took it off air. 
 
 After several hours of footage of traditional Malian music and dancing, a group of soldiers appeared on screen early on Thursday morning, with a caption identifying them as the "Committee for the Re-establishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State". 
 
 The leader of the mutiny was revealed to be Capt Amadou Sanogo, who appeared briefly to announce the imposition of a national curfew, although he did not specifying the time. 
 
 A spokesman for the renegade soldiers, identified on screen as Lt Amadou Konare, said they had ended the "incompetent regime" of President Amadou Toumani Toure. 
 
 Lt Konare condemned the "inability" of the government to "fight terrorism", and said the soldiers would look to hand over to a democratically elected government. 
 
 There has not yet been any reaction from President Toure to the announcement. 
 
 The BBC's Martin Vogl, in Bamako, said the exact whereabouts of the President Toure were not known. 
 
 However, a loyalist military source close to the president told the AFP news agency on Thursday morning that he was well and in a safe location. 
 
 Our correspondent said it was not clear whether the mutinous soldiers, up to 15 of whom were seen on screen, have complete control of the presidential palace or have the support of all the Malian forces. 
 
 He said an elite force, known as the Red Berets, could still be loyal to President Toure. 
 
 He said Mali has had democratic rule for the last 20 years, during which it has come to be seen as a model which other emerging democracies can look to. 
 
 'Recruits riot in the north' 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Opposition politician Cheick Oumar Sissoko: ''It was a mutiny, but for me, now it's a coup d'etat'' 
 
 The Kenyan government said its foreign minister, Moses Wetangula, and three officials accompanying him are safe in their Bamako hotel after being stranded in Mali. 
 
 They were in the country to attend an African Union meeting. 
 
 The unrest began on Wednesday as the country's defence minister started a tour of military barracks north of the capital. 
 
 Soldiers fired in the air during the inspection, prompting an immediate strengthening of security around the presidential palace. 
 
 Troops are upset with the government's handling of a Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country, and are also reportedly opposed to any potential talks with the rebels. 
 
 There was heavy gunfire in Bamako throughout Wednesday, and armoured vehicles had moved in to protect the presidential palace. Gunshots reportedly continued to ring out overnight. 
 
 A member of the presidential guard described the fighting to AFP. 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Residents in Bamako said soldiers were firing into the air overnight in celebration 
 
 "We are in control of the presidential palace. People are shooting towards us and we are returning fire," he said. 
 
 In the northern town of Gao, young recruits were said to have begun rioting at a military base, according to the Associated Press news agency. 
 
 Both the US and France have urged the soldiers and government to resolve their dispute through peaceful means. 
 
 The Tuaregs have forced the army out of several northern towns in recent months. 
 
 A presidential election was due to take place in the country in just under a month. 
 
 The government had so far refused to postpone the poll, despite the unrest involving Tuareg-led rebels.
– A military coup is under way in Mali, as renegade soldiers stormed the presidential palace in the capital of Bamako today, and soon afterward appeared on state TV to announce that they had booted the president and taken over the country, the BBC reports. The soldiers said they were suspending the constitution, dissolving its institutions and instituting a nationwide curfew. They said they were taking power because of President Amadou Toumani Toure's failure to defeat a rebellion by the Taureg tribes in the north, the AP reports. The military “has decided to assume its responsibilities and end the incompetent and disavowed regime of Amadou Toumani Toure,” the troops said, adding that it “does not in any way aim to confiscate power, and we solemnly swear to return power to a democratically elected president as soon as national unity and territorial integrity are established.” The mutiny comes just a month before Toure was set to leave office legally.