 The African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki-Mahamat, and President of the ECOAS Commission Jean-Claude Brot, have strongly condemned the arrest of the Malian transition President Ban Dao and Prime Minister Mokhtar Koyne, as well as some of their collaborators. In a joint statement in Bamako, they said, this act of extreme gravity can in no way be tolerated under the irrelevant provisions of ECOAS and the African Union and ask the military to return to the barracks. The two leaders indicated that they are following with deep concern the evolution of the political situation in Mali, besides demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the authorities kept in the barracks.