BAMAKO, MALI -- Update Tuesday, March 27th. WANT Expedition owner Jessica Pociask and her tour group have made it out of Mali in West Africa where the government was overthrown last week in a military coup.
In an email to associates back in Traverse City, Jessica said the group drove all day and managed to cross the border into Burkina Faso and are on their way to Ouagadougou to continue their tour.
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Update Sunday March 25th: 7&4 News is told that plans are in motion to get the owner of a Traverse City based travel company and four of her clients, who are trapped in the middle of a military coup in Western Africa, back into the United States by as early as Monday night.
On Thursday morning, rebels in Mali overthrew the government and took control of the country.During this time, Jessica Pociask from Wilderness and Nature Travel Expeditions in Traverse City was in Bamako, Mali with a tour group.
While they have not been in any danger throughout the past few days, the group is still being told to stay in their hotel. Businesses in the country are closed until Tuesday -- but arrangements have been made to get the group on an airplane and back to the United States as early as Monday night.
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Unrest half a world away is hitting close to home here in northern Michigan. A military coup in a western African nation has trapped the owner of a Traverse City based travel company and four of her clients.
Rebels in Bamako, Mali are attempting to overthrow the government and take control of the country. Gunfire can be heard through out the area, and Jessica Pociask of Wilderness and Nature Travel Expeditions and her tour group are caught in the middle of the fighting, that heated up Thursday.
"We were supposed to fly out that morning and so instead we returned to the hotel as did everyone else and waited for an update," explained Pociask via Skype to 7&4 News.
While Pociask said she and her group do not feel they are in danger, the first few hours of the coup were interesting.
"It was a little bit precarious for a while, it did seem to intensify in the afternoon because of the march. At one point I did find two bullets in the courtyard, but I think that was more a result of people firing guns in the air."
Mali is a poor country with about 14.1 million people. Pociask says it has always been a stable country and has brought tours to the area many times.
"Mali is an absolutely fantastic country with unbelievable tribes-unesco world heritage sites, ancient mosques. It is realy a place people should visit, it is a shame that the one thing that could help this country right now would be tourism but as of right now we are probably the last groups to leave the region for awile."
The rebels took over state run TV and the presidential palace, so the tour group is getting updates. If the airport is open, Pociask and her fellow travelers hope to leave the area on Sunday and continue their African tour.
