The move followed the arrest of a French embassy staffer in Mali<\/p>\n
France has ordered two Malian diplomats to leave the country and suspended its counterterrorism cooperation with Bamako, following the arrest in August of a French diplomat in the Sahel state, AFP reported on Friday.
\nAccording to a French diplomatic source cited by AFP, the two Malian officials \u2014 representing the embassy and consulate in Paris \u2014 have each been declared persona non grata and instructed to depart France by Saturday.\u00a0
\nThe source also warned that \u201cother measures\u201d could follow if the detained French national is not released promptly.
\nThe dispute stems from the August 15 arrest of a staff member at the French embassy in Bamako. Malian authorities accused Yann Vezilier of operating on behalf of French intelligence and of attempting to mobilize political, civil society, and military actors, including two generals, Abass Dembele and Nema Sagara, with the aim of \u201cdestabilizing\u201d the Malian state.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Armed, economic and media terrorism: What is France doing in Africa?<\/p>\n
According to Malian Security Minister Daoud Aly Mohammedine, Vezilier was among a \u201csmall group of marginal elements\u201d in the Malian army.
\nFrance has strongly denied the allegations. In remarks shared with AFP last month, Paris rejected the charges against Vezilier as \u201cbaseless\u201d and confirmed that dialogue with Malian officials is ongoing in hope of \u201cdispelling misunderstandings and securing the immediate release\u201d of its staffer.
\nIn August, Mali\u2019s Security Minister Daoud Aly Mohammedine said an investigation was under way to identify \u201cpossible accomplices\u201d in \u201csubversive acts\u201d against Bamako involving \u201cforeign states,\u201d after the arrest of Vezilier and dozens of Malian soldiers.
\nRelations between France and Mali have sharply deteriorated in recent years. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) \u2013 formed by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger \u2013 has repeatedly accused France of seeking to sabotage the group by pressuring members to turn on each other.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: France confirms identity of national held in Africa over coup plot<\/p>\n
Niger\u2019s transitional leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, has alleged that French operatives are also working with rebel factions along border areas in neighboring Benin and Nigeria as part of a coordinated effort to destabilize his country and the wider Sahel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The move followed the arrest of a French embassy staffer in Mali France has ordered two Malian diplomats to leave the country and suspended its counterterrorism cooperation with Bamako, following…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t