Mali's strongman leader Colonel Assimi Goita has ordered a probe into social housing that was allegedly awarded to people considered close to the ruling junta, one of his staff members said Tuesday.

A list naming beneficiaries of social-housing units in Mali's capital Bamako has circulated on social media in recent weeks, provoking outrage in the impoverished Sahel state.

Several people on the list are thought to have close links to Mali's army-dominated government, which has set tackling corruption as a major objective.

Army officers led by Goita deposed elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in an August 2020 coup, after weeks of mass protests against perceived government corruption, among other issues.

The social-housing affair has sparked broad anger, and prompted two well-known junta supporters to demand action.

"We cannot fight corruption under previous regimes and condone the same practices," said Adama Ben Diarra, a member of Mali's interim legislature, on social media.

Nouhoum Sarr, another legislator, also called for wrongdoers to be held to account, stating on social media that adopting corrupt practices was "not the reason for our fight against the old regime".

A member of Goita's staff, who declined to be named, told AFP that the strongman had ordered an investigation into the affair.

On February 7, Mali's interim Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga told foreign diplomats that tackling corruption and delivering security were priorities for his government.

Swathes of Mali lie outside of government control due to a brutal Islamist insurgency that first emerged in 2012, and has since spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

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Macron expected to announce Mali withdrawal
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