section_path: Protests and government response/May 3 Onwards
section_name: May 3 Onwards
paragraph_text: May 3 Onwards
  
  Protesters gathered outside of the Palais de la culture on the southern bank of the Niger River carrying signs and chanting slogans in support of the defense of democracy and downfall of the dictatorship. They were eventually dispersed by police, narrowly avoiding a clash with pro-regime youth demonstrators who had, hours earlier, overtaken the venue in an effort to prevent the protest from taking place. Since that time, human rights groups maintain that several prominent opposition figures beyond Traoré have been kidnapped or disappeared by pro-government forces, including Abba Alhassane, secretary-general of Convergence for the Development of Mali (CODEM), El Bachir Thiam, leader of the Yelema Party, and Abdoul Karim Traoré, a prominent youth activist.
  
  On May 5, civil society groups held a press conference during which they called for “a rapid and credible return to constitutional order through the organization of transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections." They have since called for the release of all political prisoners, including prominent figures in government. On May 7, the government suspended "all associations of a political character...until further notice for reasons of public order" in anticipation of mass protests scheduled for May 9 in the cities of Bamako and Ségou. Opposition and civil society groups chose to postpone the protests as a means of avoiding direct confrontation with government forces, who were ostensibly under orders to restrict any political activity. On May 8, Alhassane and Thiam were arrested by soldiers in separate incidents in Bamako and Kati.
  
  On May 13, the government officially dissolved all political parties and organizations within the country, with plans to reduce the number of parties overall and limit their public funding mechanisms. The same day, Karim Traoré was reported by to have disappeared by friends and colleagues. On May 14, the Malian High Authority for Communication issued a broadcasting ban on the French TV channel TV5 Monde for its coverage of the protests.
  
  On May 15, several dozen people, largely women and children, staged a protest in the village of Diafarabé in the center of the country. The predominantly Fulani village serves as a garrison for Malian security forces and is thus a frequent target of attack from the Islamist militant group Jama'at Nasr al'Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). Their protests were spurned by the alleged arrest of 20-30 men in the village market on May 12 and their subsequent extrajudicial killing by Wagner Mercenaries and Malian security forces.