Abass Dembélé
Malian colonel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abass Dembélé is a colonel-major in the Malian Armed Forces and was the governor of Mopti Region from 2020 until 2025.
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Abass Dembélé | |
|---|---|
| |
| Governor of Mopti Region | |
| In office December 2020 – August 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Sidi Alassane Touré |
| Personal details | |
Awards | National Order of Mali (2014) |
| Military service | |
| Rank | Colonel-Major |
| Battles/wars | Mali War |
Biography
Dembélé is the son of colonel Koké Dembélé, the former chancellor of the National Order of Mali.[1] He was trained in France and the United States, studying counter-terrorism. In 2012, he held the rank of commander and led the 61st Infantry Regiment from Sévaré. During the 2012 Tuareg rebellion, Didier Dacko put Dembélé at the head of a group of volunteer commandos and a company of Malian special forces.[2] These forces played a key role in Malian victory at the Battle of Konna, where Dembélé was injured but remained at the front.[3][4]
Dembélé was responsible for the arrest and imprisonment of Amadou Sanogo, who led the 2012 Malian coup d'état, on November 27, 2013.[1][5] Dembélé received the National Order of Mali in February 2014.[6] In late 2015, he graduated from the Ecole de Guerre in France.[7] In 2016, he was promoted to the Koulikoro Military School of Administration, and then appointed commander of Tombouctou Region in 2017.[8][9] He served in Timbuktu until 2019.[10]
In January 2020, Dembélé joined the team of the High Representative of the Head of State of Mali, supervised by Dioncounda Traoré.[11] In December 2020, he was appointed governor of Mopti Region.[12][13] He was forced to flee the region after massive protests broke out against his administration in June 2022.[14] Dembélé was present at the ceremony marking the end of MINUSMA in Mopti Region.[15]
During August 2025, he was arrested after being accused of planning a coup d'etat against the Malian government.[16][17]
