FRANCE has halted counter-terrorism cooperation with Mali and expelled two Malian diplomats following the arrest of a French envoy in Bamako.
A French diplomatic source told AFP on Friday, September 19, that the two Malian diplomats ordered out have until Saturday to leave France.
Last month, authorities in the West African nation announced the arrest of a French national on suspicion of spying for Paris’ intelligence services, accusing “foreign states” of seeking to destabilise the country.
According to the French diplomatic source who spoke on Friday, Mali declared “five staff members” of the French embassy in Bamako persona non grata, and they had already left the country on Sunday.
“Other measures” would be implemented soon “if our national is not released quickly,” the source said.
However, Paris dismissed Bamako’s accusations of destabilisation as unjustified and insisted the detained embassy staffer should be released under diplomatic immunity.
Mali’s ruling junta also said last month that dozens of soldiers had been detained for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government.
Since 2012, Mali has faced a deepening security crisis driven by violence from Al-Qaeda- and Islamic State-linked groups, along with armed criminal gangs.
The junta, headed by President Assimi Goita, seized power through consecutive coups in 2020 and 2021.
Citing Mali’s sovereignty, the government has distanced itself from Western partners, including former colonial power France, and forged political and military ties with Russia.
In August, France announced it was engaging in talks with Mali to “clear up any misunderstanding” and secure the “immediate release” of the arrested envoy.
Mali, Burkina Faaso, and Niger exited from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc in January.
The three Sahelian nations announced their exit from the bloc during the ECOWAS 66th session in Abuja, citing Article 91 of the revised ECOWAS treaty, which upholds the sovereignty of member states, after months of diplomatic engagement led by Presidents Faure Gnassingbé and Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Togo and Senegal, respectively, as well as mediation efforts by President Bola Tinubu.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.