"political unrest"

Mali seems to be undergoing some kind of Coup d'Etat. Very angry soldiers have taken over the presidential palace, forcing the president to flee, and have suspended the constitution and all other relevant institutions. It seems to be the inevitable rolling down hill of insanity kicked off by the Libyan conflict, or at least that's what everyone is saying, combined with an increasing influence of radical Islam in the north with a dash of Al-Qaeda to keep everything spicy. The mishandling of the northern uprising is the stated reason for a power grab, even with elections supposed to be happening at the end of April. Was rather startled, at 11 last night, to see that the name of the leader of the coup is Sanogo, the main family name from the region where I grew up.

Anyway, that's all the news I've gleaned from various sources. I've lived through two small coups and seen more from this end of the world, watching anxiously from afar. Boy, the internet is such a great invention. Long ago we MKs would angrily rail against American news outlets not even having a clue that other countries existed. Last night, instead, I perused twitter for a long while and watched a fair amount of video posted right from Bamako. And I didn't complain once, well, not about the lack of news anyway.

So, for those of you prone to complaining about incivility in politics and a too long primary season, take a few moments today to pray for Mali--for ordinary Malians who don't need this right now, for people who wanted to fly out yesterday and now can't, for many many missionaries and aid workers who would like to be able to travel and work but who are holing up along with everyone else and trying to keep away from stray shooting. And I'm praying that this Sanogo guy is not from my village.