Tensions are high in Mali’s capital, Bamako, after the arrests of dozens of soldiers in recent days, including two high-ranking generals. Although shops and offices stayed open on Tuesday, residents, including one journalist, told Al Jazeera the atmosphere there is uneasy.

Mali’s military government has so far remained silent about the spate of arrests. However, unofficial reports said the soldiers are being detained for their alleged involvement in a coup plot that aimed to overthrow General Assimi Goita’s government.

Tensions are high in Mali’s capital, Bamako, after the arrests of dozens of soldiers in recent days, including two high-ranking generals. Although shops and offices stayed open on Tuesday, residents, including one journalist, told Al Jazeera the atmosphere there is uneasy.

Mali’s military government has so far remained silent about the spate of arrests. However, unofficial reports said the soldiers are being detained for their alleged involvement in a coup plot that aimed to overthrow General Assimi Goita’s government.

The landlocked West African country, located in the semiarid Sahel region, is embroiled in a myriad of political and security crises. The recent arrests, analysts said, mark the first time the military is cracking down on soldiers within its ranks on suspicion of a coup.

Here’s what you need to know about the arrests:

Who was arrested and why?

Conflicting reports have emerged since the arrests over the weekend and on Monday.

Reports by the French news channel RFI put the number of arrested soldiers at at least 50 while the Reuters news agency reported 36 to 40 soldiers have been detained.

Two generals are reportedly among them.

Abass Dembele, a former military governor of the northern region of Mopti, was arrested on Sunday morning in his home in Kati, a garrison town just outside Bamako, according to RFI.

Dembele is popular among Malian soldiers and has a reputation as an officer who often leads from the front. He was active in the northern war of 2012, a civil war that broke out after Tuareg separatists parlayed with armed groups to seize more than 60 percent of the country. The failure of the Malian army to push the rebels back prompted France to deploy thousands of soldiers.

Air force General Nema Sagara is another top official believed to be detained. Sagara is one of the few high-ranking female military officials in Mali and throughout the region. She is also one of the few female Malian officers to have been drafted into battle when she fought in the civil war of 2013.

Al Jazeera, however, could not independently confirm the veracity of the reports.

What is happening in Mali?

Since 2012, Mali’s army has battled a swarm of armed groups in the north, including Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in the greater Sahara (ISGS).

The fighting has resulted in thousands of deaths while up to 350,000 people are currently displaced, according to Human Rights Watch. Several northern towns in rebel-held territory are under siege by the armed groups, limiting food, fuel and medical supplies. The groups operate in the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger border area.

Promising to end the violence, then-Colonel Goita, 41, took power in two successive coups in 2020 and 2021. He was sworn in as transitional president in June 2021. Under his control, the country severed ties with its former coloniser, France, and thousands of French soldiers involved in the fight against the armed groups exited the country.

The military rulers have since turned to Russian private mercenaries and military officials under the Wagner Group and Africa Corps. The army and the Russians have recorded wins but also heavy losses.

What has the military government said?

The military government has not put out an official statement stating the reasons for the arrests.

RFI quoted an unnamed Malian senior military officer close to the government as saying the soldiers were arrested because “they wanted to destabilise the transition,” referring to the military government, which calls itself a transitional government that is expected eventually to hand over power to a civilian administration.

Many of those arrested were confirmed by RFI to be members of the national guard. The special unit is headed by the Defence Minister and General Sadio Camara. In elite military circles in Bamako, Camara is increasingly seen as a rival to Goita, although they were both part of the team of coup leaders who seized power. The rifts inside the military come as some of Goita’s policies have begun to irk many, both in the military and among civilians.

This week’s arrests, some critics said, are the strongest sign yet that the military’s control is weakening from the inside. While Goita is the head of state, he appears not to have complete control over the armed forces, analysts said.

Due to the reported cracks, the military government will want to project a strong image, hence its silence, Beverly Ochieng, a Sahel analyst with the intelligence firm Control Risks, told Al Jazeera.

“[These arrests] indicate some pronounced divisions,” Ochieng said. “Quite a few red lines have been crossed in recent months, and people are bound to be tired. It is likely that the military leadership will maintain and project a united front to downplay vulnerabilities and internal rivalries.”

Is there a crackdown on dissent?

Critics said Goita’s recent policies appear to attack dissenters and aim to shrink the civic space in the troubled country.

Goita’s government, for example, approved a bill in July that would allow him to seek a five-year presidential mandate, renewable “as many times as necessary” and without requiring an election. Earlier, when it seized power, the military promised to hand over power to civilians in 2024.

In May, the military government dissolved political parties and organisations and banned political meetings, drawing condemnation from opposition politicians and rights groups.

In addition, the military government has targeted outspoken critics. This month, former Prime Minister Moussa Mara was arrested and charged with “undermining the credibility of the state” after he visited political prisoners and posted about seeking justice for them.

“As long as the night lasts, the sun will obviously appear!” Mara had written on July 4 in a social media post, adding: “We will fight by all means for this to happen as soon as possible!”

Choguel Maiga, who was the prime minister until his ouster in November, has also accused Goita’s government of targeting him. Although Maiga was once a champion of the government, he became critical of Goita this year. In July, the government accused him of fraud and embezzlement during his time in office and launched an investigation.

What else is fuelling anger in the country?

Alongside the political situation, a lack of security remains rife in the country, causing frustration among many Malians.

Several armed groups continue to operate in the north, including JNIM. Human Rights Watch (HRW) blames the military forces and their Russian counterparts for targeting civilians indiscriminately on the assumption that they work with armed groups. At least 12 men from the Fulani ethnic group appear to have been executed and 81 forcibly disappeared since January, HRW said in a report.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, which are also military-led, banded together to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) this year after they withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States. They also created a 5,000-strong force for joint military operations to try to drive out armed groups.

Separately, the Malian army is once again battling Tuareg separatists. Although there were peace agreements made after the 2012 war that allowed the northern region of Kidal to maintain a semiautonomous nature, the military government under Goita has torn up the peace deals and returned to fighting, forcing hundreds of people to flee across the border to Mauritania.

In late July, Malian forces said they killed 70 “terrorists” in a raid in the north without specifying if those killed were with an armed group or were separatists.

This undated photograph released by the French military shows Russian mercenaries in northern Mali

In July, the transitional parliament approved a five-year renewable mandate, clearing the way for Goita to lead Mali until at least 2030

You carry yourself, pay plenti money enta aeroplane either bicos di road no safe or you need to go wia you dey go fairly sharparly.

You siddon, dem do all di safety tok-tok, to wear belt and den di pilot tell you say time don reach to off your phone, but you dey play games or watch video, but not for di first time, you ask your sef why I dey run dis parole?

Some theories dey point say phones and oda gadgets fit affect di electronic systems.

According to regulations wey resemble demselves worldwide, electronic devices no suppose to stay on under 3,000m (10,000ft), even if e dey in flight mode.

But above dat height from di ground pipo fit use laptops or music players but di phones go still dey off.

Di US Federal Aviation Administration ban cell phones for airborne use howeva bicos say e fit interfere wit aircraft instruments. Dem say “devices fit dey used for airplane mode or wit cell connection off. You fit use WiFI connection on your device if di plane get WiFI system and airline allow di use.”

Di US constitution tok say “di use of cellular telephones while di aircraft dey airborne dey prohibited by FCC rules”.

BBC tori pesin, Katia Moskvitch tok say personal phones fit act to malfunction aeroplanes bicos of dia electronics based systems wey dem dey call avionics.

Dis avionics na wetin det used for navigation, to tok wit pipo for ground and monitor wetin dey keep di plane for air and some of dis components dey use sensors to take give informate to di cockpit.

So na how phones fit affect di information wey di plane dey get. No be just phone sha o, Kindles, laptops and handheld gaming consoles bicos all of dem dey comot radio waves.

If dis waves dey at frequencies wey dey close to di ones di avionics dey emit, e fit corrupt di signals and readings wey dem dey provide.

If dis sensors no work, e fit affect systems like radar, communications and collision avoidance technology.

Di problem fit rise well well if your devices don spoil and dey comot stronger radio waves or if di signals from multiple device combine.

No record don show say crashes don dey directly linked to phone use interference but sometimes pesin no dey know wetin dey cause di accidents.

Flight recorder fit no show say critical system bin fail bicos of electromagnetic interference from passengers devices.

However, even though straight line no dey between crash and use of electronic devices.

Katie reveal say US Aviation Safety Reporting System wey Nasa dey maintain show 50 cases of safety issues wey phone use cause.

One case report tok say, “First Officer report say compass systems bin get k-leg for initial climb. Wen dem ask passengers to make sure say all dia devices bin dey off, di compass system go back to normal.”

One 2006 analysis of di data base show 77 times wey dey highly link interference from electronic gadgets.

Di International Air Transport Association (IATA) show 75 separate incidents wey pilots believe say na phones cause electronic interference between 2003 and 2009.

BBC tori pesin, Katia Moskvitch point out say even though some airlines don dey advertise how dem go allow pipo to use dia phones for flights, no be for wen di plane dey take off or land, na just for wen di plane dey cruising altitude.

Wetin you fit do or not do in plane

BBC News Pidgin reach out to di Director, Public Affairs & Consumer Protection for di Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu on wetin be di aviation regulations wey dey guide airline passengers, and e list di offences wey include but no dey limited to di following;

Smoking for inside plane or for non-smoking area of di terminal building na offence.

Use of mobile phones and/or oda communication/electronics gadgets inside plane without di approval of di aircraft Commander na offence.

Fighting or oda disorderly conduct for inside plane or for di terminal building na offence.

Any conduct/act wey constitute nuisance to oda passengers na offence.

Disobedience of lawful instructions issued by di aircraft commander, flight crew, cabin attendants, check-in staff and/or security screening staff na offence.

Any conduct wey endanger or wey dey likely to endanger di safety of flight operations na crime.

Tampering wit smoke detectors and oda aircraft equipment na crime.

No pesin dey allowed to carry, or attempt to carry, weapons, prohibited items or oda dangerous devices for body, or for inside im load for plane unless e dey authorized for transport.

No pesin go dey allowed to enta security restricted area or sterile area unless di aviation security officer don screen and clear am for entry.

Na crime to take pictures or videos for restricted areas for di airport terminal

Carry Prohibited Items:

Items like sharp objects, flammable liquids, or certain electronics dey restricted and security go seize am.

Di Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority regulations allow di aircraft commander or airport authority to take di necessary measures wey include restraint wia necessary wen dem see any passenger wey dey misbehave on board or for di terminal building.

NCAA also list offences and di penalty for inside airplane or for terminal area.

Operating a portable electronic device in violation of crew directives go attract – Maximum civil penalty

Drinking alcoholic beverages wey no be di operator serve – Maximum civil penalty

Interference wit crew member go attract – Maximum civil penalty

Physical assault or threat to physically assault a flight or cabin crewmember go attract – Minimum to maximum civil penalty and/or criminal referral

Physical assault or threat to physically assault an individual wey no be crewmember – Minimum to maximum civil penalty and/or criminal referral.

Traveller wey act in a manner wey pose imminent threat to di safety of aircraft or oda individuals on di aircraft go face – Minimum to maximum civil penalty and/or criminal referral.

Smoking for area wia dem write or put “No Smoking’ sign – Maximum civil penalty.

Smoking for aircraft lavatory – Maximum civil penalty.

Tampering wit smoke detector – Minimum to maximum civil penalty and/or criminal referral.

Refusal to fasten seat belt for wia seat belt sign dey – Minimum to moderate civil penalty.