France has suspended counterterrorism cooperation with Mali and ordered two staff members of the West African nation’s consulate to leave, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has said.
The two staff members from the Malian embassy and consulate in Paris have been declared persona non grata, France’s foreign ministry added, while Mali declared five French embassy staff members persona non grata.
The suspension announced on Friday comes after a French man, Yann Vezilier, was arrested in Mali last month on charges of plotting a coup.
Mali’s army said at the time that some civilians and soldiers had obtained “the help of foreign states” in their attempt to destabilise the country.
Mali’s security minister, General Daoud Aly Mohammedine, said Vezilier had acted “on behalf of the French intelligence service, which mobilised political leaders, civil society actors and military personnel” in Mali.
Paris said the charges were “unfounded”.
The French foreign ministry said Vezilier was a member of its embassy in the capital Bamako.
The two Malian diplomats being expelled were told to leave in response to Vezilier’s arrest, a French diplomatic source told the AFP news agency. French media reported that they had to leave by Saturday.
The source added that “other measures” would be implemented soon, “if our national is not released quickly”.
France said in August that it was in talks with Mali to “clear up any misunderstanding” and secure the “immediate release” of the arrested envoy.
France’s formerly strong ties with Mali, an ex-French colony, have deteriorated since soldiers took control nearly four years ago.
Under President Assimi Goita, the military government has distanced itself from France, expelling French forces and seeking security support from Russia.
Impoverished Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group, as well as local criminal gangs.
In June, Goita extended his rule for another five years, defying earlier assurances from the military government that civilian leadership would resume by March 2024.
The extension came after the military disbanded political parties in May.
The post France suspends counterterrorism cooperation with Mali appeared first on Al Jazeera.
