Mali president and PM 'arrested' - mutiny leader

Bamako:  Mutineering soldiers in Mali on Tuesday detained President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, one of their leaders said.

"We can tell you that the president and the prime minister are under our control," the leader, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

He added that the pair had been "arrested" at Keita's residence in the capital Bamako.

Earlier, soldiers launched a mutiny from the nearby garrison town of Kati.

Another military official, who also declined to be named, said the president and prime minister were in an armoured vehicle en route to Kati.

Mali state television broadcaster ORTM went offline on Tuesday after mutinying soldiers detained President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, a journalist at ORTM said.