Photo by. AFP BAMAKO — Mali’s security services said Saturday they had disrupted a plot to carry out “targeted attacks” in the capital Bamako on the eve of a runoff in a presidential election marred by security breaches.

Sunday’s second round is likely to return Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to the helm of Mali despite fierce criticism of his handling of the country’s fight against jihadist violence and ethnic attacks.

The first round, held last month, was peppered by violence and threats from armed groups that led to several hundred polling stations being closed, mainly in the lawless central region.

Security will be tightened for the second round, an aide in the prime minister’s office said on Saturday, with 20 percent more soldiers on duty.

This means 36,000 Malian military will be deployed, 6,000 more than two weeks earlier, with a particular focus on the Mopti region in the centre of the country where voting stations had been closed, Cheick Oumar told AFP.

Security forces in Bamako said Saturday they had arrested three members of a “commando” cell who were planning attacks in the capital this weekend.

The three men, suspected of involvement in a robbery which left three people dead in 2016, are accused of “plotting targeted attacks” over the weekend, the security services said in a statement.

They were in the planning stage,” it said. “We are not currently going to provide too many details in terms of arms and munitions seized, but obviously during the election period it’s better to have them arrested than still at large.” AFP

AFPAgence France-Presse is an international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835, AFP is the third largest news agency in the world, after the Associated Press and Reuters.