A Malian newspaper editor who published an open letter criticizing the leader of last year's military coup has been charged with incitement to revolt, the head of Mali's written press association said, according to Reuters.

Boukary Daou was detained on March 6 after the letter in his Le Republicain newspaper targeted Captain Amadou Sanogo, whose coup ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure and left a power vacuum allowing Islamist rebels to seize the northern two-thirds of Mali.

A two-month-old French-led offensive has since driven the rebels out of northern cities and back into remote desert.

Daou's detention by intelligence services suggested the coup leaders retained tight control over state security under a transitional civilian government in the West African state.

Mali's private media walked out for three days last week in protest at Daou's arrest. They still refuse to cover official government business in news reports.

Interim President Dioncounda Traore, installed by the coup leaders, has promised to organize national elections by the end of July to cement a transition back to democracy.

Many doubt, however, whether unrest in northern Mali can be quelled and government administration re-established by that deadline. In the far north around Kidal, the pro-autonomy Tuareg MNLA movement has sought to exert its authority, implementing its own roadblocks and security passes.