Turkey’s swift outreach to the coup makers in Mali has fueled questions as to whether the ongoing rivalry between Turkey and France played a role in the Malian military coup that ousted the country’s embattled president in August.

Paying a visit to the former French colony on Sept. 10 before the dust of the Aug. 18 coup settled, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with the members of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People set up by the putschists.

Protests that paved the way for the coup that deposed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse escalated after the controversial elections held last spring. Guided by Mahmoud Dicko, an influential imam, the Malian opposition groups joined forces and planned a massive rally to overthrow the government on Aug. 19. Yet acting early, the military junta seized power a day before the critical protest.

Regardless of their support for Turkey or opposition to France, the Malian people have had plenty of reasons to take to the streets, including ill governance, nepotism, corruption, poverty and mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic. The country has been struck with violence, with the northern provinces including Kindal, Gao and Timbuktu falling into control of separatists and turning to jihadi enclaves. The public distrust has grown further as the government failed to contain the insurgency. The country’s UN-sponsored war on terror that costs some $1 billion annually has failed, enabling violence to extend to the capital, Bamako. The reconciliation talks between the country’s Tuareg-led rebels and the government have also collapsed.